Mechanistic Information from the Effect of Pressure on the Kinetics of Hydrolysis of Iodopentaaquochromium(III) Ion

Abstract

The rate of hydrolysis of iodopentaaquochromium(III) ion has been measured as a function of pressure (0.1 to 250 MPa) and hydrogen ion concentration (0.1 to 1.0 mol kg−1) at 298.2 K and ionic strength 1.0 mol kg−1 (aqueous HClO4–LiClO4). The volumes of activation for the acid independent and inversely acid dependent hydrolysis pathways are −5.4 ± 0.5 and −1.6 ± 0.3 cm3 mol−1 respectively, and are not detectably pressure-dependent. Consideration of these values, together with the molar volume change of −3.3 ± 0.3 cm3 mol−1 determined dilatometrically for the completed hydrolysis reaction, indicates that the mechanisms of the two pathways are associative interchange (Ia) and dissociative conjugate base (Dcb) respectively.