Solvents acid strength

If, for a given acid, we wish to increase the acid strength, then we choose a solvent which has a greater affinity for protons than has water. If we add ammonia to a solution of hydrogen chloride in water, the essential equilibrium is... 

Acids that are better proton donors than the solvent are leveled to the acid strength of the protonated solvent bases that are better proton acceptors than the solvent are leveled to the base strength of the deprotonated solvent. 

Chemical Properties. MSA combines high acid strength with low molecular weight. Its pK (laser Raman spectroscopy) is —1.9, about twice the acid strength of HCl and half the strength of sulfuric acid. MSA finds use as catalyst for esterification, alkylation, and in the polymerisation and curing of coatings (402,404,405). The anhydrous acid is also usefijl as a solvent. 

The apparent acid strength of boric acid is increased both by strong electrolytes that modify the stmcture and activity of the solvent water and by reagents that form complexes with B(OH) 4 and/or polyborate anions. More than one mechanism may be operative when salts of metal ions are involved. In the presence of excess calcium chloride the strength of boric acid becomes comparable to that of carboxyUc acids, and such solutions maybe titrated using strong base to a sharp phenolphthalein end point. Normally titrations of boric acid are carried out following addition of mannitol or sorbitol, which form stable chelate complexes with B(OH) 4 in a manner typical of polyhydroxy compounds. EquiUbria of the type ... 

Most organic compounds are bases, that is, they are capable of accepting a proton. The best-studied organic bases are the moderately strong ones, which will receive a proton in dilute aqueous solutions amines are the most important examples. The pKa value of the protonated base, referred to the infinitely dilute aqueous solution, is the usual measure of base strength, and the pH of the solution is a quantitative measure of solvent acidity, or ability to transfer a proton. 

The equilibrium in this reversible reaction will be greatly influenced by the nature of the acid and that of the solvent. Weak acids are normally used in the presence of strongly protophilic solvents as their acidic strengths are then enhanced and then become comparable to those of strong acids — this is referred to as the levelling effect . 

The log rate versus acid strength curve for the latter compound is of the exact form expected for reactions of the free base, whilst that of the former compound is intermediate between this form and that obtained for the nitration of aniline and phenyltrimethylammonium ion, i.e. compounds which react as positive species. That these compounds react mainly or entirely via the free base is also indicated by the comparison of the rate coefficients in Table 8 with those in Table 5, from which it can be seen that the nitro substituent here only deactivates weakly, whilst the chloro substitutent appears to activate. In addition, both compounds show a solvent isotope effect (Table 9), the rate coefficients being lower for the deuterium-containing media, as expected since the free base concentration will be lower in these. 

The acid strengths of a series of phosphonic acid derivatives in a variety of solvents have also been used to estimate Hammett constants. In contrast to carboxylic acids, the phosphonic acids are stronger in ketonic solvents than in hydroxylic solvents, which may be attributed to the dissociation of phosphonic acids without the necessity to disrupt the dimeric nature of the acid (see Scheme 3). 

The catalytic constants measured in 95% aqueous dioxan have been compared with piT-values in water. The twenty-four acids referred to in Table 3 are mainly carboxylic acids, but also include nitric acid, o-chloro-phenol and water. Two oximes show large positive deviations, and saccharin has considerably less catalytic activity than anticipated these substances have not been included in the correlation. A number of strong acids gave closely similar catalytic constants— HCl (3-05), HBr (2-30), CoHb.SOsH (2-30), MeSOsH (2-15), HCIO (1-25)—and the minor variations within this series are not in the expected order of acid strengths HCIO4 > HBr > HCl > ObHb. SO3H > MeSOsH. Presumably all these acids are converted in solution to the hydronium ion, the catalytic power of which is somewhat modified by ion-pairing with different anions in the solvent of low dielectric constant. The catalytic constants observed are consistent with the conventional value pJT = —1-74 for H36+. 

Since the acid HX acts as a solvent, its activity may be regarded as constant and included in the equilibrium constant. is the mean activity coefficient of the cation acid and the stabilizing anion X. The way in which equations (5) and (6) are written define the corresponding equilibrium constants as basicity constants K. Their reciprocal corresponds to the acidity constant and gives the acid strength of the conjugate acid AH. ... 

Sridharan and Mathai noticed that the transesterification of small esters under acid-catalyzed conditions was retarded by the presence of spectator polar compounds. " Thus, given that water can form water-rich clusters around protons (solvent-proton complexes) with less acid strength than methanol-only proton complexes, some catalyst deactivation may be expected with increased water concentrations. Also, water-rich methanol proton complexes should be less hydrophobic than methanol-only clusters, thus making it more difficult for the catalytic species (H" ) to approach the hydrophobic TG (and possibly DG) molecules and contributing to catalyst deactivation. Therefore, with water present in the feedstock or produced during the reaction in significant quantities, some catalyst deactivation can take place by hydration. 

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