Acid-catalyzed hydration defined

The acid-catalyzed hydration of most carbonyl structures involves alternative C of the reaction coordinates in Figure 9.13, where Nuc = H2O or ROH. The mechanism we defined as a concerted proton transfer (Section 9.3.6) is operative, and it leads to a tetrahedral intermediate that rapidly loses a proton in a second step. This was the alternative shown in Figure 9.8 A, and it is shown again in Eq. 10.6. Furthermore, general-base-catalyzed hydration pathways are common, where Figure 9.8 B shows the mechanism. There are also specific-acid-catalyzed pathways that dominate at very low pH values. Hence, even this simplest of carbonyl reactions is subject to most of the forms of acid-base catalysis we discussed in Chapter 9. 

In practice, one proceeds as follows. The value of bh >s determined for the reaction with a series of acids of similar structure, that is, for carboxylic acids or ammonium ions, etc. Limiting the data to a single catalyst type improves the fit. since the inclusion of data for a second ype of acid catalyst might define a close but not identical line. This means that Ga may be somewhat different for each catalyst type. A plot of log(kBH/p) versus log(A BH(7//i) is then constructed. This procedure most often results in a straight line, within the usual —10-15 percent precision found for LFERs. One straightforward example is provided by the acid-catalyzed dehydration of acetaldehyde hydrate,... 

Some time ago it was suggested by Zucker and Hammett (1939) that the behavior of the rates of acid-catalyzed reactions in moderately concentrated mineral acid (1-10m) could be used as a criterion for the degree of hydration of transition states. More recently this suggestion has been elaborated by Bunnett (1961). An acidity function, H0, analogous to pH, was defined (Hammett, 1940) by equations (19) and (20) where HI+ and I are the protonated and unprotonated forms of an... 

In the case of apparent general acid catalysis of acetylimidazole hydrolysis, the mechanism can be defined as a specific acid-general base process by comparison with the general base catalysis of N-methyl,N -acetylimidazolium ion. The rate of disappearance of N-methyl,N -acetylimidazolium ion in water at 25° is proportional to the concentration of the basic form of buffer components such as acetate, phosphate, N-methylimidazole, etc., (equation 30) (Wolfenden and Jencks, 1961). The buffer terms show a 1 1 correlation with the general acid-catalyzed rate of acetylimidazole disappearance (Jencks and Carriuolo, 1959) in water at 25°, when the rate expression for the latter reaction is written in terms of equation (32) rather than equation (31), that is, in terms of a general base-catalyzed hydration of protonated acetylimidazole (pX= 3-6). 

With Water. Wurtz was the first to obtain ethylene glycol by heating ethylene oxide and water in a sealed tube (1). Later, it was noted that by-products, namely diethjlene and triethylene glycol, were also formed in this reaction (50). This was the first synthesis of polymeric compounds of well-defined stmcture. Hydration is slow at ambient temperatures and neutral conditions, but is much faster with either acid or base catalysis (Table 8). The type of anion in the catalyzing acid is relatively unimportant (58) (see Glycols). 

Different enzymes exhibit different specific activities and turnover numbers. The specific activity is a measure of enzyme purity and is defined as the number of enzyme units per milligram of protein. During the purification of an enzyme, the specific activity increases, and it reaches its maximum when the enzyme is in the pure state. The turnover number of an enzyme is the maximal number of moles of substrate hydrolyzed per mole of enzyme per unit time [63], For example, carbonic anhydrase, found in red blood cells, is a very active enzyme with a turnover number of 36 X 106/min per enzyme molecule. It catalyzes a very important reaction of reversible hydration of dissolved carbon dioxide in blood to form carbonic acid [57, p. 220],... 

Surface-catalyzed degradation of pesticides has been examined in the context of research on contaminant-clay interactions. Such interactions were observed initially when clay minerals were used as carriers and diluents in the crop protection industry (Fowker et al. 1960). Later specific studies on the persistence of potential organic contaminants in the subsurface defined the mechanism of clay-induced transformation of organophosphate insecticides (Saltzman et al. 1974 Mingelgrin and Saltzman 1977) and s-triazine herbicides (Brown and White 1969). In both cases, contaminant degradation was attributed to the surface acidity of clay minerals, controlled by the hydration status of the system. 

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