Acids inductive effect

Hammett <7 Ionization of benzoic acid Inductive effects p > 1, more sensitive 0 < p < 1, less sensitive p = 0, not sensitive p < 0, positive charge created... 

With organic acids inductive effects and mesomeric effects affect the pA a values. A simple example is provided by the effect of replacing the hydrogen atoms in acetic acid by the more electronegative chlorine atom. The electron-withdrawing effect of the substituent makes ionisation easier, so successive pATa values decrease in the series 4.7, 2.8, 1.3 and 0.7 when 0,1, 2 or 3 chlorine atoms are present. The Hammett equation, provides a general expression for the effect of substituents. 

The greater positive character hence the increased acidity of the O—H proton of 2 2 2 tnfluoroethanol can be seen m the electrostatic potential maps displayed m Figure 1 8 Structural effects such as this that are transmitted through bonds are called indue tive effects A substituent induces a polarization m the bonds between it and some remote site A similar inductive effect is evident when comparing acetic acid and its trifluoro derivative Trifluoroacetic acid is more than 4 units stronger than acetic acid... 

Electron Delocalization in the Conjugate Base With a of —1 4 nitnc acid is almost completely ionized m water If we look at the Lewis structure of nitric acid m light of what we have said about inductive effects we can see why The N atom m nitric acid IS not only electronegative m its own right but bears a formal charge of +1 which enhances its ability to attract electrons away from the —OH group... 

But inductive effects are only part of the story When nitric acid transfers its proton to water nitrate ion is produced... 

The strength of an acid depends on the atom to which the proton is bonded The two mam factors are the strength of the H—X bond and the electronegativity of X Bond strength is more important for atoms m the same group of the periodic table electronegativity is more important for atoms m the same row Electronegative atoms elsewhere m the molecule can increase the acidity by inductive effects... 

Carboxylic acids are weak acids and m the absence of electron attracting substituents have s of approximately 5 Carboxylic acids are much stronger acids than alcohols because of the electron withdrawing power of the carbonyl group (inductive effect) and its ability to delocalize negative charge m the carboxylate anion (resonance effect)... 

Fluorinated Acids. This class of compounds is characterized by the strength of the fluorocarbon acids, eg, CF COOH, approaching that of mineral acids. This property results from the strong inductive effect of fluorine and is markedly less when the fluorocarbon group is moved away from the carbonyl group. Generally, their reactions are similar to organic acids and they find apphcations, particularly trifluoroacetic acid [76-05-1] and its anhydride [407-25-0] as promotors in the preparation of esters and ketones and in nitration reactions. 

Formic acid exhibits many of the typical chemical properties of the aHphatic carboxyHc acids, eg, esterification and amidation, but, as is common for the first member of an homologous series, there are distinctive differences in properties between formic acid and its higher homologues. The smaller inductive effect of hydrogen in comparison to an alkyl group leads, for example, to formic acid = 3.74) being a considerably stronger acid than acetic acid... 

The observed acidities in the gas phase are interpreted in terms of the negative induction effect of the halo substituents however, the microscopic picture of the solvent effects in addition to such induction effects of the solute have not been clarified. 

For many years, resonance in caiboxylate ions was emphasized when explaining the acidity of carboxylic acids. Recently, however, it has been suggested that the inductive effect of the carbonyl group may be more important. It seems clear that, even though then- relative contributions may be a matter of debate, both play major roles. 

Recently, Eq. (11) was extensively studied by Dewar and Grisdale, who synthesized several substituted 1 -naphthoic acids and determined the dissociation constants in mixed aqueous solvents in connection with a study on the mechanisms of transmission of the inductive effect. 

Inductive effects (Section 16.4) are also important in determining alcohol acidities. Electron-withdrawing halogen substituents, for example, stabilize an alkoxide ion by spreading out the charge over a larger volume, thus making the alcohol more acidic. Compare, for example, the acidities of ethanol (p/tcrt-butyl alcohol (p/

Because inductive effects operate through cr bonds and are dependent on distance, the effect of halogen substitution decreases as the substituent moves farther from the carboxyl. Thus, 2-chlorobutanoic acid has p/chlorobutanoic acid has p/chlorobutanoic acid has p/C., = 4.52, similar to that of butanoic acid itself. 

In addition to pyridine, the six-membered diamine pyrimidine is also found commonly in biological molecules, particularly as a constituent of nucleic acids. With a pKa of 1.3, pyrimidine is substantially less basic than pyridine because of the inductive effect of the second nitrogen. 

Lactic acid is stronger because of the inductive effect of the —OH group. 

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