Mechanism of the oxidation of diphenylamine compounds

A spectrophotometric, radiospectroscopic, and quantum chemical study of the oxidation of compounds of the diphenylamine series in acid medium has made it possible to establish a common reaction scheme for amines with different types of substituents and to determine certain details of the reaction mechanism: the participation of protonated amine molecules in the interaction with the oxidizing agent; intermediate formation of radical cations of the type of diphenylamine and N,N'-diarylbenzidine; the concrete directions of the dimerization of radical cations of diarylamines with the participation of the para-carbon atoms of the aromatic rings