Hydrogen-bonding high dielectric constant

Tables 1 and 2 Hst the important physical properties of formamide. Form amide is more highly hydrogen bonded than water at temperatures below 80°C but the degree of molecular association decreases rapidly with increa sing temperature. Because of its high dielectric constant, formamide is an excellent ionizing solvent for many inorganic salts and also for peptides, proteias (eg, keratin), polysaccharides (eg, cellulose [9004-34-6] starch [9005-25-8]) and resias.

Most organic reactions are done in solution, and it is therefore important to recognize some of the ways in which solvent can affect the course and rates of reactions. Some of the more common solvents can be roughly classified as in Table 4.10 on the basis of their structure and dielectric constant. There are important differences between protic solvents—solvents fliat contain relatively mobile protons such as those bonded to oxygen, nitrogen, or sulfur—and aprotic solvents, in which all hydrogens are bound to carbon. Similarly, polar solvents, those fliat have high dielectric constants, have effects on reaction rates that are different from those of nonpolar solvent media. 

The photodecomposition and thermodecomposition of nitromethane have been extensively studied as model systems in combustion, explosion and atmosphere pollution processes[l]. On another hand, nitromethane was selected as a model solvent in experiments aimed at examining non hydrogen-bonded solvent effects in a general acid-base theory of organic molecules [2.3]. This selection is based on the electronic and structural characteristics of nitromethane that has a high dielectric constant, and at the same time cannot form hydrogen bonds with solute molecules. 

As expected, the reaction is fastest in water due to its hydrogen-bonding ability and high dielectric constant. Addition of 1 mol% of the thiourea catalyst 10 increases the yields after 1 h in cyclohexane and chloroform by about 60% a 40 mol% catalyst doubles the yield. A sizeable catalytic effect of the m-trifluoromethyl-substi luted thiourea was also found in water. Explanations for the surprising fact that this hydrogen-bond donor is catalytically active even in a highly competitive solvent such as water will be given in Section III.D.3. 

The high dielectric constant of water, as well as that of ice, is not connected with this since it is as high as this for both H20 and DaO. In ice, as well as in heavy ice, it appears from the frequency- and temperature-dependence of the dielectric constant that the activation energy, associated with the orientation of the dipoles in an alternating electric field, is equal to 13.2 kcal/mole (Cole) which therefore points to the rupture of several hydrogen bonds. 

The high dielectric constant is characteristic of hydrogen-bonded liquids. Since HF forms only a two-dimensional polymer, it is less viscous than water. In the vapor, HF is monomeric above 80°C, but at lower temperatures the physical properties are best accounted for by an equilibrium between HF and a hexamer, (HF)6, which has a puckered ring structure. Crystalline (HF) has zigzag chains (Fig. 2-1). 

Hydrogen cyanide condenses at 25.6°C to a liquid with a very high dielectric constant (107 at 25°C). Here, as in similar cases, such as water, the high dielectric constant is due to association of intrinsically very polar molecules by hydrogen bonding. Liquid HCN is unstable and can polymerize violently in the absence of stabilizers in aqueous solutions polymerization is induced by ultraviolet light. 

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