Lewis, acidity donor

In the last few years more information on excited state pA-values has accumulated and the present review contains extensive reference tables of the experimental results in the literature available up to August 1974. We have confined our attention throughout to Br nsted acids and bases, though work on Lewis acid (donor-acceptor) systems continues (Weller, 1961 Birks, 1970 Ottolenghi, 1973) and may prove directly relevant to a deeper understanding of prototropic reactions, which must often be preceded by the formation of hydrogen-bonded complexes. Such interactions also play a role in solvent effects upon the absorption frequencies of acid and base molecules. 

Still another type of adsorption system is that in which either a proton transfer occurs between the adsorbent site and the adsorbate or a Lewis acid-base type of reaction occurs. An important group of solids having acid sites is that of the various silica-aluminas, widely used as cracking catalysts. The sites center on surface aluminum ions but could be either proton donor (Brpnsted acid) or Lewis acid in type. The type of site can be distinguished by infrared spectroscopy, since an adsorbed base, such as ammonia or pyridine, should be either in the ammonium or pyridinium ion form or in coordinated form. The type of data obtainable is illustrated in Fig. XVIII-20, which shows a portion of the infrared spectrum of pyridine adsorbed on a Mo(IV)-Al203 catalyst. In the presence of some surface water both Lewis and Brpnsted types of adsorbed pyridine are seen, as marked in the figure. Thus the features at 1450 and 1620 cm are attributed to pyridine bound to Lewis acid sites, while those at 1540... 

We have seen that a base can be defined as combining with a proton and, therefore, requires at least one lone pair of electrons. A more general definition of acids and bases, due to G. N. Lewis, describes a base as any species (atom, ion or molecule) which can donate an electron pair, and an acid as any species which can accept an electron pair— more simply, a base is an electron-pair donor, an acid an electron-pair acceptor. Some examples of Lewis acids and bases are ... 

Donor strengths, taken from ref. 207b, based upon the solvent effect on the symmetric stretching frequency of the soft Lewis acid HgBr2. Gutmann s donor number taken from ref 207b, based upon AHr for the process of coordination of an isolated solvent molecule to the moderately hard SbCL molecule in dichioroethane. ° Bulk donor number calculated as described in ref 209 from the solvent effect on the adsorption spectrum of VO(acac)2. Taken from ref 58, based on the NMR chemical shift of triethylphosphine oxide in the respective pure solvent. Taken from ref 61, based on the solvatochromic shift of a pyridinium-A-phenoxide betaine dye. 

The second important influence of the solvent on Lewis acid - Lewis base equilibria concerns the interactions with the Lewis base. Consequently the Lewis addity and, for hard Lewis bases, especially the hydrogen bond donor capacity of tire solvent are important parameters. The electron pair acceptor capacities, quantified by the acceptor number AN, together with the hydrogen bond donor addities. O, of some selected solvents are listed in Table 1.5. Water is among the solvents with the highest AN and, accordingly, interacts strongly witli Lewis bases. This seriously hampers die efficiency of Lewis-acid catalysis in water. 

Finally, the solvent also interacts with sites of the Lewis acid and the Lewis base that are not directly involved in mutual coordination, thereby altering the electronic properties of the complex. For example, delocalisation of charges into the surrounding solvent molecules causes ions in solution to be softer than in the gas phase . Again, water is particularly effective since it can act as an efficient electron pair acceptor as well as a donor. 

Analogous to the classification of Lewis acids and bases in hard and soft species, Ahrland et al. have su ested a division of donors and acceptors into classes a and 6. See Ahrland, S. Chatt, J. Davies, N.R. Quart. Rev. 1958, 77, 265... 

The Lewis definitions of acids and bases provide for a more general view of acid-base reactions than either the Arrhenius or Br0nsted-Lowry pic ture A Lewis acid is an electron pair acceptor A Lewis base is an electron pair donor The Lewis approach incorporates the Br0nsted-Lowry approach as a subcategory m which the atom that accepts the electron pair m the Lewis acid is a proton... 

The positive charge on carbon and the vacant p orbital combine to make carbo cations strongly electrophilic ( electron loving or electron seeking ) Electrophiles are Lewis acids (Section 117) They are electron pair acceptors and react with Lewis bases (electron pair donors) Step 3 which follows and completes the mechanism is a Lewis... 

Lewis acid sites Lewis-base donors Lewis bases Lewisite... 

Coordination Complexes. The abiUty of the various oxidation states of Pu to form complex ions with simple hard ligands, such as oxygen, is, in order of decreasing stabiUty, Pu + > PuO " > Pu + > PuO Thus, Pu(Ill) forms relatively weak complexes with fluoride, chloride, nitrate, and sulfate (105), and stronger complexes with oxygen ligands (Lewis-base donors) such as carbonate, oxalate, and polycarboxylates, eg, citrate, and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (106). The complexation behavior of Pu(Ill) is quite similar to that of the light lanthanide(Ill) ions, particularly to Nd(Ill)... 

The strength of the complexation is a function of both the donor atom and the metal ion. The solvent medium is also an important factor because solvent molecules that are potential electron donors can compete for the Lewis acid. Qualitative predictions about the strength of donor-acceptor complexation can be made on the basis of the hard-soft-acid-base concept (see Section 1.2.3). The better matched the donor and acceptor, the stronger is the complexation. Scheme 4.3 gives an ordering of hardness and softness for some neutral and ionic Lewis acids and bases. 

Neutral compounds such as boron trifluoride and aluminum chloride form Lewis acid-base complexes by accepting an electron pair from the donor molecule. The same functional groups that act as lone-pair donors to metal cations can form complexes with boron trifluoride, aluminum chloride, and related compounds. 

For the sake of completeness, it is worthwhile to briefly discuss role of acid-base interactions in adhesion. In this context, the term acid refers to a Lewis acid (an electron acceptor) and a Lewis base (electron donor), rather than the more conventional acid and base definitions. The role of acid-base interactions in adhesion is discussed in detail by Lee [105]. 

Resoles are usually those phenolics made under alkaline conditions with an excess of aldehyde. The name denotes a phenol alcohol, which is the dominant species in most resoles. The most common catalyst is sodium hydroxide, though lithium, potassium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, and barium hydroxides or oxides are also frequently used. Amine catalysis is also common. Occasionally, a Lewis acid salt, such as zinc acetate or tin chloride will be used to achieve some special property. Due to inclusion of excess aldehyde, resoles are capable of curing without addition of methylene donors. Although cure accelerators are available, it is common to cure resoles by application of heat alone. 

The chemistry of Lewis acid-base adducts (electron-pair donor-acceptor complexes) has stimulated the development of measures of the Lewis basicity of solvents. Jensen and Persson have reviewed these. Gutmann defined the donor number (DN) as the negative of the enthalpy change (in kcal moL ) for the interaction of an electron-pair donor with SbCls in a dilute solution in dichloroethane. DN has been widely used to correlate complexing data, but side reactions can lead to inaccurate DN values for some solvents. Maria and Gal measured the enthalpy change of this reaction... 

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