Degradation Kinetics of Benzyl Nicotinate in Aqueous Solution

The degradation of benzyl nicotinate in aqueous solution over a pH range of 2.0-10.0 at 50±0.2° was studied. The degradation was determined by high performance liquid chromatography. The degradation was observed to follow apparent first-order rate kinetics and the rate constant for the decomposition at 25° was estimated by extrapolation. The reaction was shown to be hydroxide ion catalyzed and the Arrhenius plots showed the temperature dependence of benzyl nicotinate degradation. A significant increase in the stability of benzyl nicotinate was observed when glycerol or polyethylene glycol 400 was incorporated into the aqueous solution.