Acetonitrile thermodynamic method

It is a serious drawback that it is not possible to determine the transfer activity coefficient of the proton (or of any other single-ion species) directly by thermodynamic methods, because only the values for both the proton and its counterion are obtained. Therefore, approximation methods are used to separate the medium effect on the proton. One is based on the simple sphere-in-continuum model of Born, calculating the electrostatic contribution of the Gibb s free energy of transfer. This approach is clearly too weak, because it does not consider solvation effects. Different ex-trathermodynamic approximation methods, unfortunately, lead not only to different values of the medium effect but also to different signs in some cases. Some examples are given in the following log yH+ for methanol -1-1.7 (standard deviation 0.4) ethanol -1-2.5 (1.8), n-butanol -t-2.3 (2.0), dimethyl sulfoxide -3.6 (2.0), acetonitrile -1-4.3 (1.5), formic acid -1-7.9 (1.7), NH3 -16. From these data, it can be seen that methanol has about the same basicity as water the other alcohols are less basic, as is acetonitrile. Di-... 

There is an extensive chemistry of the nickel(I) ion generated by pulse radiolysis which is beyond the scope of this review. Complexes with saturated amines such as 1,2-diaminoethane have been studied by this method and by the y radiolysis of aqueous glasses, but the species formed have no more than a transient existence. The imine ligands phen and bpy offer a more attractive environment for nickel(I) by allowing electron delocalization over the ligand n system (178,179). A number of complexes of these ligands have been reported in y-radiolysis studies. The EPR spectra indicate that reduction is primarily metal centered with a significant orbital contribution. Electrochemical reduction of [NiH(bpy)3]2+ in anhydrous acetonitrile results in [Ni (bpy)3] +, which can be detected by EPR methods. The reduction potential is reported to be —1.55 V but the complex is thermodynamically unstable with... 

Electrochemical methods have played an important role in the recognition of cation radicals as intermediates in organic chemistry and in the study of their properties. An electrode is fundamentally an electron-transfer agent so that, given the proper solvent system, anodic oxidation allows formation of the cation radical without any associated proton or other atom transfer and without the formation of a reduced form in the immediate vicinity of the cation radical. Moreover, because the potential of the electrode can be adjusted precisely, its oxidizing power can be controlled, and further oxidation of the cation radical can often be avoided. Finally, the electrochemical experiment can involve both production of the cation radical and an analysis of its behavior, so that information about the thermodynamics of its formation and the kinetics of its reaction can be obtained, even if the cation radical lifetime is as short as a few milliseconds. There are some limitations, however, in the anodic production of cation radicals. The choice of solvent is limited to those that show reasonable conductivity with a supporting electrolyte (e.g. tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate, TBAP). Acetonitrile, methylene chloride and nitrobenzene have been employed as solvents, but other favorites, such as benzene and cyclohexane, cannot be used. The relatively high dielectric constant of the suitable... 

Kinetic, steric, and thermodynamic results have been reviewed to argue that the rate-determining step in some aliphatic nucleophilic substitutions is the transfer of an electron. The same group carried out a systematic ranking of different nucleophiles with respect to their ability to stabilize the transition states of substitution reactions, acetonitrile and dimethyl sulfoxide being the solvents involved. The nucleophiles included enolates, phenolates, thiophenolates, hydroxide, and cyanide. The method is based on a comparison of the rate coefficient, ksm, for the substitution reaction between a given nucleophile and benzyl chloride with the rate coefficient, A et for the corresponding electron transfer from an aromatic radical anion to benzyl chloride. The ratio ksuB/ ET expresses the rate enhancement due to electronic interaction in the transition state of the substitution reaction. 

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