Stepwise Hydration of Ionized Aromatics. Energies and Structures of the Hydrated Benzene Cation, and the Mechanism of Deprotonation Reactions

Authors

Yehia M. Ibrahim, Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Meot-Ner, Virginia Commonwealth University
Edreese H. Alshraeh, Virginia Commonwealth University
M. Samy El-Shall, Virginia Commonwealth University
Steve Scheiner, Utah State UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Journal/Book Title

Journal of the American Chemical Society

Publication Date

4-2005

Publisher

American Chemical Society

Volume

127

Abstract

The stepwise binding energies (ΔH°_n-1,n) of 1−8 water molecules to benzene^•+ [Bz^•+(H₂O)_n] were determined by equilibrium measurements using an ion mobility cell. The stepwise hydration energies, ΔH°_n-1,n, are nearly constant at 8.5 ± 1 kcal mol^-1 from n = 1−6. Calculations show that in the n = 1−4 clusters, the benzene^•+ ion retains over 90% of the charge, and it is externally solvated, that is, hydrogen bonded to an (H₂O)_n cluster. The binding energies and entropies are larger in the n = 7 and 8 clusters, suggesting cyclic or cage-like water structures. The concentration of the n = 3 cluster is always small, suggesting that deprotonation depletes this ion, consistent with the thermochemistry since associative deprotonation Bz^•+(H₂O)_n-1 + H₂O → C₆H₅• + (H₂O)_nH⁺ is thermoneutral or exothermic for n ≥ 4. Associative intracluster proton transfer Bz^•+(H₂O)_n-1 + H₂O → C₆H₅•(H₂O)_nH⁺ would be also exothermic for n ≥ 4, but lack of H/D exchange with D2O shows that the proton remains on C₆H₆^•+ in the observed Bz^•+(H₂O)_n clusters. This suggests a barrier to intracluster proton transfer, and as a result, the [Bz^•+(H₂O)_n]* activated complexes either undergo dissociative proton transfer, resulting in deprotonation and generation of (H₂O)_nH⁺, or become stabilized. The rate constant for the deprotonation reaction shows a uniquely large negative temperature coefficient of k = cT^-67±4 (or activation energy of −34 ± 1 kcal mol-1), caused by a multibody mechanism in which five or more components need to be assembled for the reaction.

Comments

Originally published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society by the American Chemical Society . Publisher’s PDF and HTML fulltext available through remote link. DOI: 10.1021/ja050477g

Recommended Citation

Stepwise Hydration of Ionized Aromatics. Energies and Structures of the Hydrated Benzene Cation, and the Mechanism of Deprotonation Reactions Y. Ibrahim, M. Meot-Ner, E. H. Alshraeh, M. S. El-Shall, S. Scheiner J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005 127 (19), 7053-7064