A Simple Method of Calculating Dissociation Constants of Carboxylic Acids and Phenols in Various Solvents

Abstract

The Hammett equation correlating the dissociation constants (K for the substituted acid and K0 for the unsubstituted acid) of members of a closely related series of acids is given by log(K/K0) = pσ. Previously, it has been shown that the p values in other solvents can be calculated from the p value in water. In this work it is shown that the pK0 values in other solvents can also be calculated from the pK0 value in water. Therefore, we can now calculate the pK values in various solvents.