Experiments and mechanistic kinetic analyses are conducted for the hydroxide-catalyzed, aerobic oxidation of the thiol 2-mercaptoethanol (2-ME) to water and the corresponding disulfide at 22 degrees C and 1 atm total pressure in tetrahydrofuran. The experiments are performed in an isothermal, bench-scale reactor with a maintained O-2 partial pressure. The 2-ME concentrations are measured using gas chromatograph/flame ionization detector (GC/FID). The mixture includes a small amount of aqueous NaOH required to activate the thiol (RSH) to thiolate (RS-). The observed 2-ME conversion is first order in 2-ME concentration. A multistep mechanism is proposed consistent with the observed kinetics. The rate-determining step is the coupling of RS- to dissolved O-2, with an estimated rate constant k = 1.93 x 10(-6) liter/mmol h.