Solvent effects on the reactivity of solvated electrons with ions in tert-butanol/water mixtures

Abstract

Reactions of [Formula: see text] with the ions [Formula: see text] showed different variations of rate with solvent composition in tert-butanol/water mixtures from 0 to 100 mol% water. In pure tert-butanol solvent at 298 K the respective values of k2 (106 m3 mol−1 s−1) are 3.2, 13, and 42. The estimated value of reaction radius Rr depends on the minimum number of solvent molecules needed between [Formula: see text] and the reactant ion to attain the static values of ε of the bulk solvent used in the calculation of the Debye factor f; Rr is assumed to be larger in the alcohol-rich region than in the water-rich region, because the solvent molecules are larger. The Smoluchowski–Debye–Nernst–Einstein model is used to evaluate the effective reaction radius κRr, where κ is the probability of reaction per encounter; κRr decreases from pure tert-butanol to pure water. In the water-rich region the activation energies E2 of the efficient reactions, 11–24 kJ mol−1, are similar to EΛ0 of the reactant electrolyes, 12–23 kJ mol−1. For the inefficient reactant [Formula: see text] E2 = 30 kJ mol−1. The high values of E2 = 43–53 kJ mol−1 in pure tert-butanol solvent are attributed to a high activation energy for diffusion of [Formula: see text] in this solvent. Keywords:tert-butanol/water solvents, solvated electron, ions, reactivity, solvent effects.