Unusual Chemistry in an Uncatalyzed Bromate-Aniline Oscillator: Ring-Contraction Oxidation of Aniline with Pulsative CO Production.

The bromate-aniline oscillatory reaction was discovered 4 decades ago, but neither the detailed mechanism nor the key products or intermediates of the reaction were described. We report herein a detailed study of this reaction, which yielded new insights. We found that oscillatory oxidation of aniline by acidic bromate proceeds, to a significant extent, via a novel reaction pathway with the periodic release of carbon dioxide.