Basic Remarks on Acidity

Manganese(III) Nitrate Complexes as Bench-Stable Powerful Oxidants

We report herein a convenient one-pot synthesis for the shelf-stable molecular complex [Mn(NO3)3(OPPh3)2] (2) and describe the properties that make it a powerful and selective one-electron oxidation (deelectronation) reagent. 2 has a high reduction potential of 1.02 V versus ferrocene (MeCN) (1.65 vs normal hydrogen electrode), which is one the highest known among readily available redox agents used in chemical synthesis. 2 exhibits stability toward air in the solid state, can be handled with relative ease, and is soluble in most common laboratory solvents such as MeCN, dichloromethane, and fluorobenzene. 2 is substitutionally labile with respect to the coordinated (pseudo)halide ions enabling the synthesis of other new Mn(III) nitrato complexes also with high reduction potentials ranging from 0.6 to 1.0 V versus ferrocene.

Mechanism of photocatalytic CO2 reduction to HCO2H by a robust multifunctional iridium complex

The tetradentate PNNP-type IrIII complex Mes-IrPCY2 ([Cl-IrIII-H]+) is reported to be an efficient catalyst for the reduction of CO2 to formate with excellent selectivity under visible light irradiation. Density functional calculations have been carried out to elucidate the mechanism and the origin of selectivity in the present work. Calculations suggest that the double-reduced complex 1-H (1[IrI-H]0) demonstrates higher activity than the single-reduced complex 2-H (2[IrIII(L˙-)-H]+), possibly owing to the higher hydride donor ability of the former compared to the latter; thus 1-H functions as the active species in the overall CO2 reduction reaction. In the HCOO- formation pathway, the hydride of 1-H performs a nucleophilic attack on CO2via an outer-sphere fashion to generate species 1-OCHO (1[IrI-OCHO]0), which then releases HCOO- to produce an IrI intermediate. A subsequent protonation and chloride coordination of the Ir center leads to the regeneration of catalyst 1[Cl-IrIII-H]+. For the CO production, a nucleophilic attack on CO2 takes place by the Ir atom of 1-Hvia an inner-sphere manner to afford complex O2C-3-H (1[O2C-IrIII-H]0), followed by a two-proton-one-electron reduction to furnish the OC-2-H complex (2[OC-IrIII(L˙-)-H]+) after liberating a H2O. Ultimately, CO is released to form 2-H. The stronger nucleophilicity as well as smaller steric hindrance of the hydride than the Ir atom of the active species 1-H (1[IrI-H]0) is found to account for the favoring of formate formation over CO formation. Meanwhile, the CO2 reduction reaction is calculated to be preferred over the hydrogen evolution reaction, and this is consistent with the experimental product distributions.

Reliable and accurate prediction of basic pK[Formula: see text] values in nitrogen compounds: the pK[Formula: see text] shift in supramolecular systems as a case study

This article presents a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) approach for predicting the acid dissociation constant (pK[Formula: see text]) of nitrogenous compounds, including those within supramolecular complexes based on cucurbiturils. The model combines low-cost quantum mechanical calculations with QSAR methodology and linear regressions to achieve accurate predictions for a broad range of nitrogen-containing compounds. The model was developed using a diverse dataset of 130 nitrogenous compounds and exhibits excellent predictive performance, with a high coefficient of determination (R[Formula: see text]) of 0.9905, low standard error (s) of 0.3066, and high Fisher statistic (F) of 2142. The model outperforms existing methods, such as Chemaxon software and previous studies, in terms of accuracy and its ability to handle heterogeneous datasets. External validation on pharmaceutical ingredients, dyes, and supramolecular complexes based on cucurbiturils confirms the reliability of the model. To enhance usability, a script-like tool has been developed, providing a streamlined process for users to access the model. This study represents a significant advancement in pK[Formula: see text] prediction, offering valuable insights for drug design and supramolecular system optimization.

The Unified Redox Scale for All Solvents: Consistency and Gibbs Transfer Energies of Electrolytes from their Constituent Single Ions

We have devised the unified redox scale Eabs H2O , which is valid for all solvents. The necessary single ion Gibbs transfer energy between two different solvents, which only can be determined with extra-thermodynamic assumptions so far, must clearly satisfy two essential conditions: First, the sum of the independent cation and anion values must give the Gibbs transfer energy of the salt they form. The latter is an observable and measurable without extra-thermodynamic assumptions. Second, the values must be consistent for different solvent combinations. With this work, potentiometric measurements on silver ions and on chloride ions show that both conditions are fulfilled using a salt bridge filled with the ionic liquid [N2225 ][NTf2 ]: if compared to the values resulting from known pKL values, the silver and chloride single ion magnitudes combine within a uncertainty of 1.5 kJ mol-1 to the directly measurable transfer magnitudes of the salt AgCl from water to the solvents acetonitrile, propylene carbonate, dimethylformamide, ethanol, and methanol. The resulting values are used to further develop the consistent unified redox potential scale Eabs H2O that now allows to assess and compare redox potentials in and over six different solvents. We elaborate on its implications.

Ultrasonic‑assisted molten salt hydrates pretreated Eucheuma cottonii residues as a greener precursor for third-generation l-lactic acid production

This study aims to establish an efficient pretreatment method that facilitates the conversion of sugars from macroalgae wastes, Eucheuma cottonii residues (ECRs) during hydrolysis and subsequently enhances l-lactic acid (L-LA) production. Hence, ultrasonic-assisted molten salt hydrates (UMSHs) pretreatment was proposed to enhance the accessibility of ECRs to hydrolyze into glucose through dilute acid hydrolysis (DAH). The obtained hydrolysates were employed as the substrate in producing L-LA by separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF). The maximum glucose yield (97.75 %) was achieved using UMSHs pretreated ECRs with 40 wt% ZnCl2 at 80 °C for 2 h and followed with DAH. The optimum glucose to L-LA yield obtained for SHF was 90.08 % using 5 % (w/w) inoculum cell densities of B. coagulans ATCC 7050 with yeast extract (YE). A comparable performance (89.65 %) was obtained using a nutrient combination (lipid-extracted Chlorella vulgaris residues (CVRs), vitamin B3, and vitamin B5) as a partial alternative for YE.

Synthesis and Characterization of Stable Iron Pentacarbonyl Radical Cation Salts

The open‐shell iron pentacarbonyl cation [Fe(CO)₅]^.+ was isolated by deelectronation, i.e., the single‐electron oxidation of the parent neutral Fe(CO)₅ using [phenazine^F]^.+ as the [Al(OR^F)₄]⁻ and [F‐{Al(OR^F)₃}₂]⁻ salt (R^F=C(CF₃)₃; phenazine^F=perfluoro‐5,10‐bis(perfluorophenyl)‐5,10‐dihydrophenazine). [Fe(CO)₅]^.+[Al(OR^F)₄]⁻ was fully characterized (scXRD analysis, IR, NMR, EPR, ⁵⁷Fe spectroscopy, CV and SQUID magnetization study) and, apart from being a compound of fundamental interest, may serve as a precursor for low‐valent iron coordination chemistry.

Measurements and Utilization of Consistent Gibbs Energies of Transfer of Single Ions: Towards a Unified Redox Potential Scale for All Solvents

Utilizing the “ideal” ionic liquid salt bridge to measure Gibbs energies of transfer of silver ions between the solvents water, acetonitrile, propylene carbonate and dimethylformamide results in a consistent data set with a precision of 0.6 kJ mol⁻¹ over 87 measurements in 10 half‐cells. This forms the basis for a coherent experimental thermodynamic framework of ion solvation chemistry. In addition, we define the solvent independent peabsH2O ‐ and the EabsH2O values that account for the electronating potential of any redox system similar to the pHabsH2O value of a medium that accounts for its protonating potential. This EabsH2O scale is thermodynamically well‐defined enabling a straightforward comparison of the redox potentials (reducities) of all media with respect to the aqueous redox potential scale, hence unifying all conventional solvents′ redox potential scales. Thus, using the Gibbs energy of transfer of the silver ion published herein, one can convert and unify all hitherto published redox potentials measured, for example, against ferrocene, to the EabsH2O scale.

Perdeuteration of Deactivated Aryl Halides by H/D Exchange under Superelectrophile Catalysis

Superelectrophilic silylium/arenium ions are shown to be highly effective H/D exchange promoters for the exhaustive deuteration of electron-deficient aryl halides. Several of the resulting perdeuterated aryl halides have been previously inaccessible with existing deuterium-labeling procedures. Using inexpensive C₆D₆ as the deuterium source, excellent degrees of deuterium incorporation were achieved under ambient reaction conditions. Importantly, the perdeuteration remains unaffected on multigram scale, even at a reduced catalyst loading of 0.1 mol %. By this method, otherwise expensive or noncommercially available NMR solvents such as 1,2-dichloro- and 1,2-difluorobenzene can be prepared.

Mechanism and selectivity of photocatalyzed CO2 reduction by a function-integrated Ru catalyst

The phosphine-substituted Ru(II) polypyridyl complex, [Ru^II-(tpy)(pqn)(MeCN)]²⁺ (RuP), was disclosed to be an efficient photocatalyst for the reduction of CO₂ to CO with excellent selectivity. In this work, density functional calculations were performed to elucidate the reaction mechanism and understand the origin of selectivity. The calculations showed that RuP was first excited to the singlet excited state, followed by intersystem crossing to produce a triplet species (3RuIII(L˙-)-S), which was then reduced by the sacrificial electron donor BIH to generate a Ru^II(L˙^-) intermediate. The ligand of Ru^II(L˙^-) was further reduced to produce a Ru^II(L^2-) intermediate. The redox non-innocent nature of the tpy and pqn ligands endows the Ru center with an oxidation state of +2 after two one-electron reductions. Ru^II(L^2-) nucleophilically attacks CO₂, in which two electrons are delivered from the ligands to CO₂, affording a Ru^II-COOH species after protonation. This is followed by the protonation of the hydroxyl moiety of Ru^II-COOH, coupled with the C-O bond cleavage, resulting in the formation of Ru^II-CO. Ultimately, CO is dissociated after two one-electron reductions. Protonation of Ru^II(L^2-) to generate a Ru^II-hydride, a critical intermediate for the production of formate and H₂, turns out to be kinetically less favorable, even though it is thermodynamically more favorable. This fact is due to the presence of a Ru²⁺ ion in the reduced catalyst, which disfavors its protonation.

3 14 2+

To access the hitherto almost unknown class of clustered transition metal carbonyl cations, the trimetal dodecacarbonyls M3(CO)12 (M = Ru, Os) were reacted with the oxidant Ag+[WCA]−, but yielded the silver complexes [Ag{M3(CO)12}2]+[WCA]−...

Computational investigation into intramolecular hydrogen bonding controlling the isomer formation and pKa of octahedral nickel (II) proton reduction catalysts

This work demonstrates the impact of intramolecular hydrogen bonding (H-bonding) on the calculated pKa of octahedral tris-(pyridinethiolato)nickel (II), [Ni(PyS)3]-, proton reduction catalysts. Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations on a [Ni(PyS)3]-...

Acid and base strength variations: rationalization for cyclic amine bases and acidic aqua cations

This perspective highlights and evaluates recent key developments in the thermodynamic approach used to analyze trends in acid and base strength variation. According to this approach, acid and base strength ranking can be interpreted by using thermodynamic or thermochemical cycles. Each cycle generally consists of three independent but well-defined steps. The modus operandi described here entails the identification of the dominant step and the rationalization of its free energy/enthalpy/energy change along a selected series in terms of known structural chemical concepts. Developments in this approach are described by focusing on two related series of bases and two series of acids. In the case of the former the protonation of a series of N-heterocyclic amine bases together with their methyl-substituted analogs receives particular attention while in the case of acids, the acidic properties of aqua dications of elements in period 4 and group 2 are probed. It is illustrated how significant progress in computational chemistry and mass spectrometric techniques can be employed to compare 'inherent' basicity or acidity in the selected families of compounds by using simple gas-phase energy cycles. Unique, dual functions for both electronegativity (element and orbital) and charge density (for aqua cations) indicators are identified and used to evaluate these cycles. Solvent effects (in aqueous solution) are accommodated by including dehydration and hydration changes in appropriately-extended, three-step free energy cycles. It is further suggested that the dominant step in the extended thermodynamic cycle for monomeric aqua cations is the transfer of M(H₂O)_n²⁺ complex hydrates from the gas-phase to bulk water. Charge density of the aqua cations again features prominently in proposed rationalizations. Finally, this article also sheds light on salient relationships that exist between empirically and quantum-chemically estimated enthalpy and entropy changes for the aforementioned transfer process.

Evaluation and validation of detailed and simplified models of the uncertainty of unified [Formula: see text] measurements in aqueous solutions

The use of the unified pH concept, [Formula: see text] , applicable to aqueous and non-aqueous solutions, which allows interpreting and comparison of the acidity of different types of solutions, requires reliable and objective determination. The [Formula: see text] can be determined by a single differential potentiometry measurement referenced to an aqueous reference buffer or by a ladder of differential potentiometric measurements that allows minimisation of inconsistencies of various determinations. This work describes and assesses bottom-up evaluations of the uncertainty of these measurements, where uncertainty components are combined by the Monte Carlo Method (MCM) or Taylor Series Approximation (TSM). The MCM allows a detailed simulation of the measurements, including an iterative process involving in minimising ladder deviations. On the other hand, the TSM requires the approximate determination of minimisation uncertainty. The uncertainty evaluation was successfully applied to measuring aqueous buffers with pH of 2.00, 4.00, 7.00, and 10.00, with a standard uncertainty of 0.01. The reference and estimated values from both approaches are metrologically compatible for a 95% confidence level even when a negligible contribution of liquid junction potential uncertainty is assumed. The MCM estimated pH values with an expanded uncertainty, for the 95% confidence level, between 0.26 and 0.51, depending on the pH value and ladder inconsistencies. The minimisation uncertainty is negligible or responsible for up to 87% of the measurement uncertainty. The TSM quantified measurement uncertainties on average only 0.05 units larger than the MCM estimated ones. Additional experimental tests should be performed to test these uncertainty models for analysis performed in other laboratories and on non-aqueous solutions.

The Power of the Proton: From Superacidic Media to Superelectrophile Catalysis

Superacidic media became famous in connection with carbocations. Yet not all reactive intermediates can be generated, characterized, and eventually isolated from these Brønsted acid/Lewis acid cocktails. The counteranion, that is the conjugate base, in these systems is often too nucleophilic and/or engages in redox chemistry with the newly formed cation. The Brønsted acidity, especially superacidity, is in fact often not even crucial unless protonation of extremely weak bases needs to be achieved. Instead, it is the chemical robustness of the aforementioned counteranion that determines the success of the protolysis. The advent of molecular Brønsted superacids derived from weakly coordinating, redox-inactive counteranions that do withstand the enormous reactivity of superelectrophiles such as silicon cations completely changed the whole field. This Perspective summarizes general aspects of medium and molecular Brønsted acidity and shows how applications of molecular Brønsted superacids have advanced from stoichiometric reactions to catalytic processes involving protons and in situ generated superelectrophiles.

A unified pH scale for all solvents: part I – intention and reasoning (IUPAC Technical Report)

The definition of pH, its measurement and standard buffers, is well developed in aqueous solutions. Its definition in solvents other than water has been elaborated for a couple of solvents and their mixtures with water. However, the definition of a universal pH scale spanning all solvents and phases, not to mention standard procedures of measurement, is still a largely uncharted territory. UnipHied is a European collaboration and has the goal of putting the theoretical concept of an earlier introduced (2010) unified pHabs scale on a metrologically well-founded basis into practice. The pHabs scale enables the comparability of acidity between different phases. This article draws the connection of the concepts of unified acidity and secondary pH measurement.

Unified pH Measurements of Ethanol, Methanol, and Acetonitrile, and Their Mixtures with Water

Measurement of pH in aqueous-organic mixtures with different compositions is of high importance in science and technology, but it is, at the same time, challenging both from a conceptual and practical standpoint. A big part of the difficulty comes from the fundamental incomparability of conventional pH values between solvents (^spH, solvent-specific scales). The recent introduction of the unified pH (pH_abs) concept opens up the possibility of measuring pH, expressed as pHabsH2O, in a way that is comparable between solvent, and, thereby, removing the conceptual problem. However, practical issues remain. This work presents the experience of the authors with measuring pHabsH2O values in mixtures of methanol, ethanol, and acetonitrile, with water, but without the presence of buffers or other additives. The aim was to assigned pHabsH2O values to solvent-water mixtures using differential potentiometry and the 'pH_abs-ladder' method. Measurements were made of the potential difference between glass electrodes immersed in different solutions, separated by an ionic liquid salt bridge. Data were acquired for a series of solutions of varying solvent content. This work includes experiences related to: a selection of commercial electrodes, purity of starting material, and comparability between laboratories. Ranges of pHabsH2O values for selected compositions of solvent-water mixtures are presented.

Interplay of Acidity and Ionic Liquid Structure on the Outcome of a Heterocyclic Rearrangement Reaction

The study of suitable probe reactions is a powerful tool to investigate the properties of nonconventional solvents such ionic liquids (ILs). In particular, we studied the acid-catalyzed mononuclear rearrangement of heterocycles (MHR) of the Z-phenylhydrazone of 5-amino-3-benzoyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole into the relevant 1,2,3-triazole, in solution of ILs by means of kinetic measurements. We chose as solvents six ILs differing both in the cation and anion, in the presence of five carboxylic and sulfonic acids as catalysts. For a useful comparison, the reaction was also performed in 1,4-dioxane and methanol. In general, the reaction occurs faster in ILs, compared to conventional solvents, according to the weaker solvation interactions operating in the former media. The effect of IL anion and cation on the reactivity and on the acidic strength of the catalysts was analyzed. To this aim, we measured the acidic strength of the sulfonic acids in each IL, estimated by the equilibrium formation constant of each acid with 4-nitroaniline. We found that the trend of reactivity as a function of the IL anion mainly reflects the larger difference in acidic strengths of the catalyst. Conversely, acidic strength spans a narrower range as a function of the IL cation. As a result, other factors come into play, such as the π-π interactions involving aromatic IL cations, substrate, and transition states, leading to a more articulate trend.

The Inverted Philosopher’s Stone: how to turn silver to a base metal

Metals often are classified as “noble” or “base”—characterizing their reduction potential as one of the most important chemical properties. We show that metals are only as noble as allowed by their environment, i.e. this is a relative term, and the “frame of reference” simply is the solvent in which the redox system is present. We prove that silver is a prime example for a noble metal that forfeits its noble character in the simple ionic liquid HMIM Br (1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide) as an example for such a solvent.

Catalytic Dynamic Kinetic Resolutions in Tandem to Construct Two-Axis Terphenyl Atropisomers

The defined structure of molecules bearing multiple stereogenic axes is of increasing relevance to materials science, pharmaceuticals, and catalysis. However, catalytic enantioselective approaches to control multiple stereogenic axes remain synthetically challenging. We report the catalytic synthesis of two-axis terphenyl atropisomers, with complementary strategies to both chlorinated and brominated variants, formed with high diastereo- and enantioselectivity. The chemistry proceeds through a sequence of two distinct dynamic kinetic resolutions: first, an atroposelective ring opening of Bringmann-type lactones produces a product with one established axis of chirality, and second, a stereoselective arene halogenation delivers the product with the second axis of chirality established. In order to achieve these results, a class of Brønsted basic guanidinylated peptides, which catalyze an efficient atroposelective chlorination, is reported for the first time. In addition, a complementary bromination is reported, which also establishes the second stereogenic axis. These bromo-terphenyls are accessible following the discovery that chiral anion phase transfer catalysis by C₂-symmetric phosphoric acids allows catalyst control in the second stereochemistry-determining event. Accordingly, we established the fully catalyst-controlled stereodivergent synthesis of all possible chlorinated stereoisomers while also demonstrating diastereodivergence in the brominated variants, with significant levels of enantioselectivity in all cases.

Synthesis and Application of a Perfluorinated Ammoniumyl Radical Cation as a Very Strong Deelectronator

The perfluorinated dihydrophenazine derivative (perfluoro-5,10-bis(perfluorophenyl)-5,10-dihydrophenazine) ("phenazine^F ") can be easily transformed to a stable and weighable radical cation salt by deelectronation (i.e. oxidation) with Ag[Al(OR^F )₄ ]/ Br₂ mixtures (R^F =C(CF₃ )₃ ). As an innocent deelectronator it has a strong and fully reversible half-wave potential versus Fc⁺ /Fc in the coordinating solvent MeCN (E°'=1.21 V), but also in almost non-coordinating oDFB (=1,2-F₂ C₆ H₄ ; E°'=1.29 V). It allows for the deelectronation of [Fe^III Cp*₂ ]⁺ to [Fe^IV (CO)Cp*₂ ]²⁺ and [Fe^IV (CN-^t Bu)Cp*₂ ]²⁺ in common laboratory solvents and is compatible with good σ-donor ligands, such as L=trispyrazolylmethane, to generate novel [M(L)_x ]ⁿ⁺ complex salts from the respective elemental metals.

Local Acid Strength of Solutions and Its Quantitative Evaluation Using Excess Infrared Nitrile Probes

We propose the concept of local acidity in condensed-phase chemistry in this work. The feature is demonstrated in trifluoroethanol (TFE) by employing two Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) nitrile probes, acetonitrile (CH₃CN) and benzonitrile (PhCN). Specifically, three positive excess peaks were found in the binary systems composed of TFE and a probe using excess spectroscopy. To characterize the local acidity quantitatively, we have tried to correlate the wavenumbers of the positive excess peaks of the probes and the pK_a values in water of a series of XH-containing compounds (X = O, N, and C). Good linear relationships were discovered. Accordingly, three different pK_a values of TFE were determined based on the three positive excess infrared peaks, which are attributed to the monomer, dimer, and trimer of TFE with the help of quantum-chemical calculations. The concept of local acidity and its quantitative evaluation enrich our knowledge of acid-base chemistry and will shed light on a better understanding of microstructures of solutions.

Proton Thermodynamics in a Protic Ionic Liquid, Ethylammonium Nitrate

In order to investigate the proton solvation state in protic ionic liquids (PILs), ten acid dissociation enthalpies and entropies of eight compounds were determined in ethylammonium nitrate (EAN). Regardless of the nature of the compound, 24 kJ mol^-1 larger enthalpy and 65 J mol^-1  K^-1 larger entropy than those in water, respectively, were observed. These values were reasonably explained by the differences in the proton solvation structure in EAN and water. Namely, protons in EAN exist as HNO₃ , having a higher reaction energy than that of H₃ O⁺ in water, undergo entropic stabilization as a result of the less-structured solvation. As such, the entropic effect of the proton solvation structure on the acid-base property is possibly applicable to all PILs. In addition, based on these proton thermodynamics, enthalpy and entropy windows were proposed as a novel perspective for the characterization of solvents. Use of this concept enabled the visualization of similarities and differences between EAN and water.

Generalization of Acid-Base Diagrams Based on the Unified pH-Scale

So far, pH‐lgc_i diagrams have been exclusively used for the theoretical description of acid‐base equilibria in aqueous solutions. Here, this approach is extended to include acid‐base equilibria in nonaqueous non‐hydrogen‐bond‐donor (non‐HBD) solvents following the acid‐base theory of Brønsted and Lowry, and using a unified pH scale (pH_abs scale). This way, it is possible to estimate the approximate concentrations of all the species involved in acid‐base equilibria in a solution at any solution acidity pH(HS) , and vice versa. The diagrams are excellent to illustrate the differences in behavior of species involved in the solution equilibria in different solvents, for example, an aqueous solution of acetic acid is an acidic solution; however, the same concentration of acetic acid in DMSO has a pHabsH2O value of about 10.6, that is, it is a basic solution with reference to the aqueous pH scale.

Predicting Mole-Fraction-Dependent Dissociation for Weak Acids

We demonstrate for formic and acetic acid dissolved in water as examples that the binary quantum cluster equilibrium (bQCE) approach can predict acid strengths over the whole range of acid concentrations. The acid strength increases in a complex rather than a simple way with increasing mole fraction of the acid from 0 to 0.7, reflecting the complex interplay between the dissociated ions or conjugate bases available as compared to the acid and water molecules. Furthermore, our calculated ion concentrations meet the experimental maximum of the conductivity with excellent agreement for acetic acid and satisfactorily for the formic acid/water mixture. As only a limited number of simple quantum-chemical calculations are required for the prediction, bQCE is clearly a valuable approach to access these quantities also in non-aqueous solutions. It is a highly valuable asset for predicting ionization processes in highly concentrated solutions, which are relevant for biological and chemical systems, as well as technological processes.

The role of the molecular formula of ZnCl2·nH2O on its catalyst activity: a systematic study of zinc chloride hydrates in the catalytic valorisation of cellulosic biomass

We show the efficient and direct transformation of a range of low value cellulosic substrates such as lignocellulose and algal biomass, into higher value chemicals, including low molecular weight reducing saccharides and furanoid products.

Validation of pH Standards and Estimation of the Activity Coefficients of Hydrogen and Chloride Ions in an Ionic Liquid, Ethylammonium Nitrate

We selected and validated the pH values of three standard materials that function in the protic ionic liquid, ethylammonium nitrate (EAN). The pH values of 0.05 mol kg^-1 phthalate, oxalate, and phosphate buffers were 4.93 (0.04), 2.12 (0.04), and 7.13 (0.06), respectively (the values in the parentheses denote the standard deviation). Because the pH of EAN ranges from 0 to 10, with a neutral pH of 5, these materials are usable as acidic, basic, or neutral standards. The standard electrode potential of silver-silver chloride in EAN was 127.2 (1.7) mV. The activity coefficients of hydrogen and chloride ions remain equal to unity in EAN of a wide concentration range, which indicates that the effective ionic strength is independent of the solute ion concentration. In addition, the estimated value of the transfer activity coefficient of chloride ion suggests a weaker solvation in EAN compared with water in spite of a ubiquitous cation (C₂H₅NH₃⁺). These behaviors of ions in EAN can be explained by the unique solvation in the ionic liquid through direct ion-ion electrostatic interactions.

Enhancement of Thermodynamic Gas-Phase Acidity and Basicity of Water by Means of Secondary Interactions

A series of A⋅water, B⋅water complexes (A=acid, B=base) are studied at the G4 level of theory to show that water acidity or basicity can be modulated by non-covalent interactions. Protic and non-protic acids interacting with water form hydrogen bonds or other kinds of non-covalent interactions, respectively, that may dramatically change the acidity of water up to almost 360 kJ ⋅ mol^-1 in terms of enthalpy. Similarly, hydrogen bonds responsible for the interaction between typical small nitrogen-containing Lewis bases and water can enhance the proton affinity of water by almost 300 kJ ⋅ mol^-1 . Our results reveal that these large enhancements are linearly related with the binding energy of the charged complexes, and are determined by the Lewis acid-base properties of the molecule involved in the interaction, allowing a quite precise modulation of the corresponding acid-base properties of water.