Kinetics and mechanism of the reaction of iron(III) with 6-methyl-2,4-heptanedione and 3,5-heptanedione

Abstract

The kinetics of the reactions of iron(III) with 6-methyl-2,4-heptanedione and 3,5-heptanedione to form the corresponding monocomplexes have been studied spectrophotometrically in the range 5 °C to 16 °C at I 25 mol l-1 in aqueous solution. In the proposed mechanism for the two complexes, the enol form reacts with the metal ion by parallel acid-independent and inverse-acid paths. The kinetic constants for both pathways have been calculated at five temperatures. Activation parameters have also been calculated. The results are consistent with an associative activation for Fe(H2O)63+ and dissociative activation for Fe(H2O)5(OH)2+. The differences in the results for the complexes of heptanediones studied are interpreted in terms of steric factors.