Pseudo-order rate constants

Only true rate constants (i.e., those with no unresolved concentration dependences) can properly be treated by the Arrhenius or transition state models. Meaningful values are not obtained if pseudo-order rate constants or the rates themselves are correlated by Eq. (7-1) or Eq. (7-2). This error is found not uncommonly in the literature. The activation parameters from such calculations, A and AS in particular, are meaningless. 

Pseudo-order rate constants are generally indicated with a prime, e.g. k . 

This little relationship shows that a pseudo-order rate constant k is not a genuine rate constant, because its value changes in proportion to the concentration of the reactant in excess (in this case, with [B]). 

Worked Example 8.17 The following kinetic data were obtained for the second-order reaction between osmium tetroxide and an alkene, to yield a 1,2-diol. Values of k are pseudo-order rate constants because the 0s04 was always in a tiny minority. Determine the second-order rate constant k2 from the data in the following table ... 

Propagation of errors, 40, 48, 248 Propinquity effect, 263, 365 Protol5Tsis, 147, 148 Proton inventory technique, 302 Proton transfer, 166 direct, 148 extent of, 346 fast, 97, 146, 173 isotope effect in, 296 partial, 395 Proximity effect, 365 Pseudo-first-order rate constant, 23 Pseudo-first-order reaction, 61 Pseudo-order rate constant, 23 Pseudo-order reaction, 23 Pseudo-order technique, 26, 78 Pulse NMR, 170... 

Table 5.6 provides information taken from the kinetic reaction profile for Br" in Figure 5.7b. Use this information to determine a value for the pseudo-order rate constant in Equation 5.22. 

To siimmorize The initial rale method is essentially an isolation technique but it does not require that any reactants have to be in large excess. In general for a reaction involving two or more reactants, one of these is isolated by arranging that the initial concentrations of the others are held at fixed values during a series of experiments. The main application of the method is for the determination of partial order. Values of pseudo-order rate constants can be determined but with an accuracy that, in turn, depends on how accurately initial rates of reaction can be measured. 

Given the form of an experimental rate equation which has a particular order, determine the units in which the experimental rate constant, or pseudo-order rate constant, would typically be expressed. (Questions 4.2, 5.2, 5.3 and Exercise 5.2)... 

The effective rate law correctly describes the pressure dependence of unimolecular reaction rates at least qualitatively. This is illustrated in figure A3,4,9. In the lunit of high pressures, i.e. large [M], becomes independent of [M] yielding the high-pressure rate constant of an effective first-order rate law. At very low pressures, product fonnation becomes much faster than deactivation. A j now depends linearly on [M]. This corresponds to an effective second-order rate law with the pseudo first-order rate constant Aq ... 

Kinetic measurements were performed employii UV-vis spectroscopy (Perkin Elmer "K2, X5 or 12 spectrophotometer) using quartz cuvettes of 1 cm pathlength at 25 0.1 C. Second-order rate constants of the reaction of methyl vinyl ketone (4.8) with cyclopentadiene (4.6) were determined from the pseudo-first-order rate constants obtained by followirg the absorption of 4.6 at 253-260 nm in the presence of an excess of 4.8. Typical concentrations were [4.8] = 18 mM and [4.6] = 0.1 mM. In order to ensure rapid dissolution of 4.6, this compound was added from a stock solution of 5.0 )j1 in 2.00 g of 1-propanol. In order to prevent evaporation of the extremely volatile 4.6, the cuvettes were filled almost completely and sealed carefully. The water used for the experiments with MeReOj was degassed by purging with argon for 0.5 hours prior to the measurements. All rate constants were reproducible to within 3%. 

Herein k js is the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant. In the presence of micelles, analogous treatment of the experimental data will only provide an apparent second-order rate constant, which is a weighed average of the second-order rate constants in the micellar pseudophase and in the aqueous phase (Equation 5.2). 

The effect of micelles of SDS, CTAB and C12E7 on the apparent second-order rate constants of the Diels-Alder reaction between nonionic 5.1a, anionic 5.1 f and cationic 5.1g with 5.2 is reported in Table 5.1. These apparent rate constants are calculated from the observed pseudo-first-order rate constants by dividing the latter by the overall concentration of 5.2. 

Herein [5.2]i is the total number of moles of 5.2 present in the reaction mixture, divided by the total reaction volume V is the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant Vmrji,s is an estimate of the molar volume of micellised surfactant S 1 and k , are the second-order rate constants in the aqueous phase and in the micellar pseudophase, respectively (see Figure 5.2) V is the volume of the aqueous phase and Psj is the partition coefficient of 5.2 over the micellar pseudophase and water, expressed as a ratio of concentrations. From the dependence of [5.2]j/lq,fe on the concentration of surfactant, Pj... 

Assuming complete binding of the dienophile to the micelle and making use of the pseudophase model, an expression can be derived relating the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant koi . to the concentration of surfactant, [S]. Assumirg a negligible contribution of the reaction in the aqueous phase to the overall rate, the second-order rate constant in the micellar pseudophase lq is given by ... 

When the dienophile does not bind to the micelle, reaction will take place exclusively in the aqueous phase so that the second-order rate constant of the reaction in the this phase (k,) is directly related to the ratio of the observed pseudo-first-order rate constant and the concentration of diene that is left in this phase. 

The value for the pseudo-first-order rate constant is determined by solving equation 13.6 for k and making appropriate substitutions thus... 

The conditions chosen make the reaction appear to be first-order overall, although the reaction is really not first-order overall, unlessjy and happen to be 2ero. If a simple exponential is actually observed over a reasonable extent (at least 90—95%) of decay the assumptions are considered vaUdated and is obtained with good precision. The pseudo-first-order rate constant is related to the k in the originally postulated rate law by... 

The two main termination steps for neutral solutions are HO + HO — H2O2 + 2 O3 and HO + HO3 — H2O2 + O3 + O2. An alternative mechanism has been proposed that does not involve HO and HO but has a different initiation step (26). Three ozone molecules are destroyed for each primary event. In the presence of excess HO radical scavengers, ie, bicarbonate, the pseudo-first-order rate constant at 20°C for the initiation step is 175 X. This yields an ozone half-hfe of 66 min at pH 8. In distilled water = 50 mmol/L), the half-hfe is significantly lower, ie, 7 min. 

For those pesticides that are cometabolized, ie, not utilized as a growth substrate, the assumption of first-order kinetics is appropriate. The more accurate kinetic expression is actually pseudo-first-order kinetics, where the rate is dependent on both the pesticide concentration and the numbers of pesticide-degrading microorganisms. However, because of the difficulties in enumerating pesticide-transforming microorganisms, first-order rate constants, or half-hves, are typically reported. Based on kinetic constants, it is possible to rank the relative persistence of pesticides. Pesticides with half-hves of <10 days are considered to be relatively nonpersistent pesticides with half-hves of >100 days are considered to be relatively persistent. 

Fig. 8.P3I. Plot of the pseudo-first-order rate constants for hydrolysis of thioesters A (O), B ( ), C (A), D (A) as a fiinction of pH at 50°C and ionic strength 0.1 (KCI). Lines are from fits of the data to = kon(K /H+)) + (k KJK + [//+])) where koH is the hydroxide term and is the intramolecular assistance term for B and C and from linear regression for A and D. Reproduced from problem reference 31 by permission of the American Chemical Society.

The intermediate diphenylhydroxymethyl radical has been detected after generation by flash photolysis. Photolysis of benzophenone in benzene solution containing potential hydrogen donors results in the formation of two intermediates that are detectable, and their rates of decay have been measured. One intermediate is the PhjCOH radical. It disappears by combination with another radical in a second-order process. A much shorter-lived species disappears with first-order kinetics in the presence of excess amounts of various hydrogen donors. The pseudo-first-order rate constants vary with the structure of the donor with 2,2-diphenylethanol, for example, k = 2 x 10 s . The rate is much less with poorer hydrogen-atom donors. The rapidly reacting intermediate is the triplet excited state of benzophenone. 

Calculate die pseudo-first order rate constant kj = k2[S20g ] and, hence, k2. 

The results give the pseudo-first order rate constant, and kj = 3.312 a... 

The initial anhydride concentration was about 3 x 10 M, and the amine concentration was much larger than this. The reaction was followed spectrophoto-metrically, and good first-order kinetics were observed hence, the reaction is first-order with respect to cinnamic anhydride. It was not convenient analytically to use the isolation technique to determine the order with respect to allylamine, because it is easier to observe the cinnamoyl group spectrophotometrically than to follow the loss of amine. Therefore, the preceding experiment was repeated at several amine concentrations, and from the first-order plots the pseudo-first-order rate constants were determined. These data are shown in Table 2-1. Letting A represent... 

Table 2-1. Determination of Reaction Order from Pseudo-First-Order Rate Constants ...

The isolation technique showed that the reaction is first-order with respect to cin-namoylimidazole, but treatment of the pseudo-first-order rate constants revealed that the reaction is not first-order in amine, because the ratio k Jc is not constant, as shown in Table 2-2. The last column in Table 2-2 indicates that a reasonable constant is obtained by dividing by the square of the amine concentration hence the reaction is second-order in amine. For the system described in Table 2-2, we therefore find that the reaction is overall third-order, with the rate equation... 

We can reach two useful conclusions from the forms of these equations First, the plots of these integrated equations can be made with data on concentration ratios rather than absolute concentrations second, a first-order (or pseudo-first-order) rate constant can be evaluated without knowing any absolute concentration, whereas zero-order and second-order rate constants require for their evaluation knowledge of an absolute concentration at some point in the data treatment process. This second conclusion is obviously related to the units of the rate constants of the several orders. 

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