Solvent effect on the alpha-effect: ground-state versus transition-state effects; a combined calorimetric and kinetic investigation

In a study of the solvent effect on the alpha-effect, second-order rate constants (kNu-) have been determined spectrophotometrically for reactions of a series of substituted phenyl acetates with butan-2,3-dione monoximate (Ox-, alpha-nucleophile) and p-chlorophenoxide (p-ClPhO-, reference nucleophile) in DMSO-H2O (DMSO = dimethyl sulfoxide) mixtures of varying compositions at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C. The magnitude of the alpha-effect, kOx-/kp-ClPhO-, increases as the DMSO content in the medium increases up to 40-50 mol %, reaching 500, one of the largest alpha-effect values, and then decreases on further addition of DMSO, resulting in a bell-shaped alpha-effect profile regardless of the nature of the substrates. The magnitude of the alpha-effect is found to be significantly dependent on the substrates (or, more quantitatively, on beta(nuc)). Thus, beta(nuc) is an important predictor of the magnitude of the alpha-effect. The bell-shaped alpha-effect profile found in the present system is attributed to the differential change in the sensitivity of the medium effect on the Ox- and p-ClPhO- systems but not due to a change in the reaction mechanism or to a drastic change in the basicity of the two nucleophiles on addition of DMSO to the medium. Through application of calorimetric measurements of ground-state solvation combined with the diagnostic beta(nuc) values, it is shown that the transition-state effect is more dominant than the ground-state effect as the origin of the alpha-effect in the present system.     

On gas phase alpha-effects. 1. The gas-phase manifestation and potential SET character

The possibility of a gas-phase alpha-effect has been explored for the methyl transfer from methyl formate to hydroxide, hydroperoxide, and ethoxide by computing barrier heights at the HF/6-311++G(2df,2p) level of theory. The alpha-nucleophile (hydroperoxide) is found to have a lower barrier than the gas-phase-acidity-matched normal nucleophile (ethoxide) by 3.6 kcal/mol, offering evidence for a gas phase alpha-effect. A Shi-Boyd analysis for these reactions indicates that there is more single-electron-transfer character in the hydroperoxide transition state than for either hydroxide or ethoxide, further bolstering the existence of a gas-phase alpha-effect and the appropriateness of the Hoz model for the alpha-effect.     

Solvent effect on the alpha-effect for the reactions of aryl acetates with butane-2,3-dione monoximate and p-chlorophenoxide in MeCN-H2O mixtures.

Second-order rate constants have been measured spectrophotometrically for the nucleophilic reactions of three substituted phenyl acetates with butane-2,3-dione monoximate (Ox(-)) as an alpha-nucleophile and p-chlorophenoxide (ClPhO(-)) as corresponding normal nucleophile, in MeCN-H2O mixtures of varying compositions at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degrees C. The reactivity of Ox(-) toward the aryl acetates decreases upon addition of MeCN to the reaction medium up to ca. 30 mol % MeCN, followed by a gradual increase in rate upon further addition of MeCN. A similar result has been obtained for the reaction of ClPhO(-) with the aryl acetates. However, the decrease in rate is more significant for the less reactive ClPhO(-) than for the more reactive Ox(-). Thus, for all the aryl acetates studied, Ox(-) exhibits a sizable alpha-effect (k(Ox)-/k(ClPhO)-) whose magnitude increases as the mol % MeCN in the reaction medium increases. The relative basicities (DeltapK(a)) of Ox(-) and ClPhO(-) have been determined spectrophotometrically using piperazine as a reference base. The DeltapK(a) values increase on increasing the mol % MeCN in the medium for both Ox(-) and ClPhO(-). The difference in the relative basicities of these nucleophiles (DeltaDeltapK(a)) becomes larger with increasing mol % MeCN. The plots of log k(Ox)-/k(ClPhO)- vs DeltaDeltapK(a) for the three substrates are linear with near-unit slope, indicating that the difference in the relative basicity of the nucleophiles is largely responsible for the increasing alpha-effect with medium composition in this system.     

Miceliization and Surface Adsorption of Tetraethylammonium Perfluorooctanesulfonate in Mixed Solvents

The surface tension and cenductivity of tetracthylarnmomum perfluorooctanesulfonate (TEPFOS) solu-tions in mixed solvents were determined The criticsl micelle concentrations (cmc) and surface adsorption of TEPFOS in various solvents (Dimetbylsulfoxlde and DMSO, formamide and FA, and DMSO-H2O and FA H2O mixtures) were calculated from the above experimental date. The results show that the surface activity of TEPFOS is much higher than that of typical hydrocarbon surfactant, sodium dodecylsulfate (SDS); the melecalar interaction (in terms of colubility araneter or surface tension) of solvent is the decisive factor in sffecting the cmc of TEPFOS , in the apretic solvent DMSO, the value of entropy change during micelliza-tion of TEPFOS may beecme subsantially negative; the surfaof adsorption amount of TEPFOS is the largest in H2O, smaller in FA , and the smallest in DMSO.     

SOLVENT EFFECT ON PHOTOSENSITIZED OXIDATION OF IODIDE ION BY ANTHRACENE SULPHONATES

Abstract— Iodide ion oxidation by singlet oxygen is found to be influenced by two properties of the solvent. One is the polarity of the solvent and the other is the availability of protons in the solvent. By suitable choice of solvents and solvent mixtures both kinds of effects have been studied. In water-methanol mixtures the reaction is found to be facilitated in more polar medium. In isodielectric media as obtained by mixtures of acetonitrile and methanol the reaction is repressed with increase in the aprotic component (CH₃CN) in the solvent. The same effect is observed in the DMSO-H, O mixtures. In heavy water the reaction rate is doubled and the effect fits well into the proposed kinetic scheme involving singlet oxygen for photosensitized oxidation of I^- by anthracene sulphonates.     

Effects on the Reactivity by Changing the Electrophilic Center from CO to CS: Contrasting Reactivity of Hydroxide,p‐Chlorophenoxide,and Butan‐2,3‐dione Monoximate in DMSO/H2O Mixtures

Second‐order rate constants have been measured spectrophotometrically for the reactions of O‐p‐nitrophenyl thionobenzoate ( 1 , PNPTB) with HO^?, butan‐2,3‐dione monoximate (Ox^?, α‐nucleophile), and p‐chlorophenoxide (p‐ClPhO^?, normal nucleophile) in DMSO/H₂O of varying mixtures at (25.0±0.1) °C. Reactivity of these nucleophiles significantly increases with increasing DMSO content. HO^? is less reactive than p‐ClPhO^? toward 1 up to 70 mol % DMSO although HO^? is over six pK_a units more basic in these media. Ox^? is more reactive than p‐ClPhO^? in all media studied, indicating that the α‐effect is in effect. The magnitude of the α‐effect (i.e., k/k_p) increases with the DMSO content up to 50 mol % DMSO and decreases beyond that point. However, the dependency of the α‐effect profile on the solvent for reactions of 1 contrasts to that reported previously for the corresponding reactions of p‐nitrophenyl benzoate ( 2 , PNPB); reactions of 1 result in much smaller α‐effects than those of 2 . Breakdown of the α‐effect into ground‐state (GS) and transition‐state (TS) effects shows that the GS effect is not responsible for the α‐effect across the solvent mixtures. The role of the solvent has been discussed on the basis of the bell‐shaped α‐effect profiles found in the current study as well as in our previous studies, that is, a GS effect in the H₂O‐rich region through H‐bonding interactions and a TS effect in the DMSO‐rich media through mutual polarizability interactions.     

OH−-induced β-elimination reactions with 1-(2-Xethyl)-4-nitrobenzene substrates in solvent mixture H2O/CH3CN and H2O/DMSO: Reactivity and mechanism

The behaviour of 1-(2-bromoethyl) 4-nitrobenzene (1), N,N,N-triethyl-2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethanaminium bromide (2) and N,N-diethyl-N-[2-(4-nitrophenyl)ethyl]octan-1-aminium bromide (3) in the OH⁻-induced elimination reactions with formation of 1-nitro-4-vinylbenzene in mixtures of DMSO/H₂O or CH₃CN/H₂O has been investigated. With all three substrates an increase in dipolar aprotic solvent content implies a limited increase of the second-order rate constant k _OH up to ≅605, and then an exponential increase is observed. The variation of activation parameters ΔH ^# and dGS ^#, measured in DMSO/H₂O mixtures, is parallel for 1 and 2. This similar behaviour of 1 and 2 with respect to variation in solvent composition is evidence that it is not possible to use this technique of solvent effect for the mechanistic diagnosis of elimination reactions.     

Solvation in binary mixtures of water and polar aprotic solvents: theoretical calculations of the concentrations of solvent-water hydrogen-bonded species and application to thermosolvatochromism of polarity probes

Thermo-solvatochromism of two polarity probes, 2,6-diphenyl-4-(2,4,6-triphenyl- pyridinium-1-yl)phenolate, RB, and 2,6-dichloro-4-(2,4,6-triphenylpyridinium-1-yl) phenolate, WB, in aqueous acetone, Me2CO, and aqueous dimethylsulfoxide, DMSO, has been studied. The data obtained have been analyzed according to a recently introduced solvation model that explicitly considers the presence of 1:1 organic solvent-water hydrogen-bonded species, S-W, in the bulk binary mixture and its exchange equilibria with (S) and (W) in the solvation shell of the probe. Calculations require reliable values of Kdissoc, the dissociation constant of S-W. Previously, this has been calculated from the dependence of the densities of binary solvent mixtures on their composition. Using iteration, the volume of the hydrogen-bonded species, VS-W, and Kdissoc were obtained simultaneously from the same set of experimental data. This approach may be potentially suspect because Kdissoc, and VS-W are highly correlated. Therefore, we extended a recently introduced approach for the calculation of Valcohol-W to binary mixtures of water with acetone, acetonitrile, N,N-dimethylformamide, DMSO, and pyridine. This approach includes: Determination of VS-W from ab initio calculations by the COSMO solvation model; correction of these volumes for the nonideal behavior of the binary solvent mixtures at different temperatures; use of corrected VS-W as a constant (not an adjustable parameter) in the equation that is employed to calculate Kdissoc (from density versus binary solvent composition). Solvation of RB and WB by Me2CO-W showed different behavior from that of aqueous DMSO. Thus, water is able to displace Me2CO more efficiently than DMSO from the probe solvation shell. Me2CO-W and DMSO-W displace their corresponding precursor solvents; this is more efficient for the former case because the strong DMSO-W interactions attenuate the solvation capacity of this species. Temperature increase resulted in desolvation of both probes, due to concomitant decrease of the structures of the component solvents.     

KINETICS,MEDIUM, AND DEUTERIUM ISOTOPE EFFECTS IN THE ALKALINE DECOMPOSITION OF QUATERNARY PHOSPHONIUM SALTS III1 Tetraphenylphosphonium Chloride in Dimethylsulphoxide-Water Mixtures

Abstract

The reaction between tetraphenylphosphonium chloride and hydroxide or deuteroxide anions was studied kinetically in a series of dimethylsulphoxide-water mixtures at several temperatures. The rate is first-order in the phosphonium cation and second-order in the hydroxide or deuteroxide anions. The reaction shows a dramatic increase in rate, up to about 10¹⁰ times, as the DMSO content is increased. The rate enhancement is attributed to a considerable drop in activation energy affected not only through an increased desolvation of reactant anions, but also through an increase in solvation of the transition state, brought about by gradual addition of DMSO. The kinetic solvent deuterium isotope effect in 60% DMSO-40% D₂O is strongly dependent on temperature. The rate constant in the latter solvent mixture is represented by k ⁱ = 11.9 e ^?12700/RT l ² mole^?2 sec^?1 as compared to k ⁱ = 19.0 e ^?22500/RT l ² mole^?2 sec^?1 in the corresponding 60% DMSO-H₂O mixture. The thermodynamic parameters of activation show strong dependence on solvent composition and are related to structural changes and solvation power of the reaction medium.     

疏水作用对光化学和光物理过程的影响 I: 不良溶剂中长链β-萘甲酸烷基酯的簇集和激基缔合物的形成

研究了不同链长的β-萘甲酸烷基酯(An)在乙二醇-水(EG-H2O)和二甲基砜-水(DMSO-H2O)混合溶剂中的荧光光谱, 以及添加物(无机盐、长链饱和烷烃、糖淀粉)对An荧光的影响. 长链An在混合溶剂中很容易形成激基缔合物, 表明疏水作用促使长链分子相互簇集. 测定了不同链长的分子发生簇集的临界浓度和临界溶剂组成. 分别添加长链烷烃和糖淀粉都能引起激基缔合物的荧光强度减弱和单体荧光强度的增强, 表明An和长链烷烃共簇集, 与糖淀粉形成包结物. 研究了在簇集体中An形成激基缔合物的动力学和热力学, 测定了激基缔合物形成和解离速率常数、活化能和热焓的变化. 证明了簇集体中基态发色基团之间并不具有激基缔合物的构型, 在一定温度下, 簇集体会发生相变.     

Kinetics and mechanism of the base-catalyzed oxygenation of flavonol in DMSO-H(2)O solution.

The kinetics of the base-catalyzed oxygenation of flavonol have been investigated in 50% DMSO-H(2)O solution in the pH range 6.4-10.8 and an ionic strength of 0.1 mol L(-1) using spectrophotometric techniques at temperatures between 70 and 90 degrees C. The rate law -d[flaH]/dt = k(obs) [OH(-)][flaH][O(2)] (k(obs) = kK(1)/[H(2)O]) describes the kinetic data. The rate constant, activation enthalpy, and entropy at 353.16 K are as follows: k/mol(-1) L s(-1) = (4.53 +/- 0.07) x 10(-2), DeltaH/kJ mol(-1)= 59 +/- 4, DeltaS/J mol(-1) K(-1) = -110 +/- 11. The reaction showed specific base catalysis. It fits a Hammett linear free energy relationship for 4'-substituted flavonols and electron-releasing substituents enhanced the reaction rate. The linear correlation between the oxidation potential of the flavonols and the rate constants supports that a higher electron density on the flavonolate ion makes them more nucleophilic and the electrophilic attack of O(2) easier.     

Effect of acetonitrile–water mixtures on the reaction of dinitrochlorobenzene and dinitrochlorobenzotrifluoride with hydroxide ion

The kinetics of alkaline hydrolysis of 2‐chloro‐3,5‐dinitrobenzotrifluoride 1 and 1‐chloro‐2,4‐dinitrobenzene 2 were studied in various acetonitrile–water (AN–H₂O) mixtures (10–90% w/w) at different temperatures. Thermodynamic parameters ΔH^# and ΔS^# show great variation, whereas ΔG^# appears to vary little with the solvent composition presumably due to compensating variations. The results are discussed in terms of the solvent parameters such as preferential solvation, dielectric constant, polarity/polarizability, and hydrogen bond donor and acceptor parameters. It has been found that the factors controlling the reaction rates are the desolvation of OH^?, the solvophobicity of the medium, and free water molecules in rich AN mixed solvent. The data showed that the solvatochromic parameters of (AN–H₂O) mixed solvent are destroyed in the presence of excess OH^?. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 42: 453–463, 2010     

Solvent tuning of the substitution behavior of a seven-coordinate iron(III) complex

A detailed kinetic study of the substitution behavior of the seven-coordinate [Fe(dapsox)(L)2]ClO4 complex (H(2)dapsox = 2,6-diacetylpyridine-bis(semioxamazide), L = solvent or its deprotonated form) with thiocyanate as a function of the thiocyanate concentration, temperature, and pressure was undertaken in protic (EtOH and acidified EtOH and MeOH) and aprotic (DMSO) organic solvents. The lability and substitution mechanism depend strongly on the selected solvent (i.e., on solvolytic and protolytic processes). In the case of alcoholic solutions, substitution of both solvent molecules by thiocyanate could be observed, whereas in DMSO only one substitution step occurred. For both substitution steps, [Fe(dapsox)(L)2]ClO4 shows similar mechanistic behavior in methanol and ethanol, which is best reflected by the values of the activation volumes (MeOH DeltaV(I) = +15.0 +/- 0.3 cm(3) mol(-1), DeltaV(II) = +12.0 +/- 0.2 cm(3) mol(-1); EtOH DeltaV(I) = +15.8 +/- 0.7 cm(3) mol(-1), DeltaV(II) = +11.1 +/- 0.5 cm(3) mol(-1)). On the basis of the reported activation parameters, a dissociative (D) mechanism for the first substitution step and a D or dissociative interchange (I(d)) mechanism for the second substitution step are suggested for the reaction in MeOH and EtOH. This is consistent with the predominant existence of alcoxo [Fe(dapsox)(ROH)(OR)] species in alcoholic solutions. In comparison, the activation parameters for the substitution of the aqua-hydroxo [Fe(dapsox)(H2O)(OH)] complex by thiocyanate at pH 5.1 in MES were determined to be DeltaH = 72 +/- 3 kJ mol(-1), DeltaS = +38 +/- 11 J K(-1) mol(-1), and DeltaV = -3.0 +/- 0.1 cm(3) mol(-1), and the operation of a dissociative interchange mechanism was suggested, taking the effect of pressure on the employed buffer into account. The addition of triflic acid to the alcoholic solutions ([HOTf] = 10(-3) and 10(-2) M to MeOH and EtOH, respectively) resulted in a drastic changeover in mechanism for the first substitution step, for which an associative interchange (Ia) mechanism is suggested, on the basis of the activation parameters obtained for both the forward and reverse reactions and the corresponding volume profile. The second substitution step remained to proceed through an I(d) or D mechanism (acidified MeOH DeltaV(II) = +9.2 +/- 0.2 cm(3) mol(-1); acidified EtOH DeltaV(II) = +10.2 +/- 0.2 cm(3) mol(-1)). The first substitution reaction in DMSO was found to be slowed by several orders of magnitude and to follow an associative interchange mechanism (DeltaS = -50 +/- 9 J K(-1) mol(-1), DeltaV(I) = -1.0 +/- 0.5 cm(3) mol(-1)), making DMSO a suitable solvent for monitoring substitution processes that are extremely fast in aqueous solution.     

Study of solvent-solvent interaction by paper chromatography. I. Dimethyl sulphoxide-water system

Summary The interaction between dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) and water, occurring when the two liquids are mixed together, has been studied: 1. by the measurement of the rate of migration of the different solvent mixtures, over the whole concentration range, on paper chromatograms, and 2. by observing the paper chromatographic behaviour of hexacyanoferrate II anions when these mixtures are used as mobile phases. The rate of migration gives a very pronounced maximum at the solvent concentration which corresponds to the composition DMSO·H₂O. The chromatographic behaviour of the hexacyanoferrate II ion besides confirming this conclusion shows the existence of three distinct zones of differing solvent structure and solvating behaviour.     

Kinetics and mechanism of oxidation of dimethyl sulphoxide by sodium bromate-sodium bisulphite reagent in aqueous medium

Rates of oxidation of dimethyl sulphoxide (DMSO) by HOBr producedin situ from sodium bromate-sodium bisulphite reagent have been studied iodometrically in aqueous medium. The order in [DMSO] is one when [DMSO] < 001 mol dm^-3, fractional when [DMSO] is between 0.01 and 0.5mol dm^-3 and zero when (DMSO) > 0.5 mol dm^-3. Different rate laws are operative under these three conditions though HOBr is the effective oxidizing species in all the cases. A mechanism involving an intermediate four-membered cyclic transition state between DMSO and HOBr (formation constantK), which decomposes in a slow step with a rate constant(k) has been proposed. Thermodynamic parameters for the adduct formation step and activation parameters for the first-order decomposition of the adduct step have been evaluated in the temperature range 308–323 K. Activation parameters have also been determined while the orders in [DMSO] are unity and zero. The reaction product has been identified as dimethyl sulphone (DMSO₂).     

Solvent effects on electron transfer reactions. The system iron(III)-phenothiazine in water-alcohol mixtures

Summary The effect of solvent composition (aqueous mixtures of methanol, ethanol, propan-1-ol and propan-2-ol) on the rate constants and activation parameters of the electron transfer between iron(III) and phenothiazine has been investigated. The dependence of the kinetic parameters on the solvent composition is discussed with reference to previously investigated systems.     

The alpha-effect in gas-phase SN2 reactions: existence and the origin of the effect

The origin of enhanced reactivity of alpha-nucleophiles in SN2 reactions was examined on the basis of computational results at the high level G2(+) method for 22 gas-phase reactions: Nu- + RCl --> RNu + Cl- [R = Et and i-Pr; Nu- = HO-, CH3O-, HS-, Cl-, Br-, NH2O-, HOO-, FO-, HSO-, ClO-, and BrO-]. The results clearly indicate the existence of the alpha-effect, whose size varies depending on the R group and the identity of the alpha-atom. The alpha-effect is larger for i-PrCl than EtCl, and for an alpha-nucleophile with a harder alpha-atom. Analyses of the present results, together with previously reported ones for MeF and MeCl reactions, reveal that several rationales so far presented to explain the alpha-effect, such as thermodynamic product stability, transition state (TS) tightness, electrostatic interaction, ET rationale, and polarizability, cannot explain the observed size of the alpha-effect. The importance of deformation energy on going from the reactant to the TS is presented.     

The alpha-effect in reactions of sp-hybridized carbon atom: Michael-type reactions of 1-aryl-2-propyn-1-ones with primary amines

[reaction: see text] Second-order rate constants (kN) have been measured for the Michael-type reaction of 1-(X-substituted phenyl)-2-propyn-1-ones (2a-f) with a series of primary amines in H2O at 25.0 +/- 0.1 degree C. A linear Br?nsted-type plot with a small beta(nuc) value (beta(nuc) = 0.30) has been obtained for the reactions of 1-phenyl-2-propyn-1-one (2c) with non-alpha-nucleophile amines. Hydrazine is more reactive than other primary amines of similar basicity (e.g., glycylglycine and glycine ethyl ester) and results in a positive deviation from the linear Br?nsted-type plot. The reactions of 2a-f with hydrazine exhibit a linear Hammett plot, while those with non-alpha-nucleophile amines give linear Yukawa-Tsuno plots, indicating that the electronic nature of the substituent X does not affect the reaction mechanism. The alpha-effect increases as the substituent X in the phenyl ring of 2a-f becomes a stronger electron-donating group. However, the magnitude of the alpha-effect for the reactions of 2a-f is small (e.g., kN(hydrazine)/kN(glycylglycine) = 4.6-13) regardless of the electronic nature of the substituent X. The small beta(nuc) has been suggested to be responsible for the small alpha-effect. A solvent kinetic isotope effect (e.g., kN(H2O)/kN(D2O) = 1.86) was observed for the reaction with hydrazine but absent for the reactions with non-alpha-nucleophile amines. The reactions with hydrazine and other primary amines have been suggested to proceed through a five-membered intramolecular H-bonding structure VI and a six-membered intermolecular H-bonding structure VII, respectively. The transition state modeled on VI can account for the substituent dependent alpha-effect and the difference in the solvent kinetic isotope effect exhibited by the reactions with hydrazine and other primary amines. It has been proposed that the beta(nuc) value is more important than the hybridization type of the reaction site to determine the magnitude of the alpha-effect.     

Experimental and theoretical multiple kinetic isotope effects for an SN2 reaction. An attempt to determine transition-state structure and the ability of theoretical methods to predict experimental kinetic isotope effects

The secondary alpha-deuterium, the secondary beta-deuterium, the chlorine leaving-group, the nucleophile secondary nitrogen, the nucleophile (12)C/(13)C carbon, and the (11)C/(14)C alpha-carbon kinetic isotope effects (KIEs) and activation parameters have been measured for the S(N)2 reaction between tetrabutylammonium cyanide and ethyl chloride in DMSO at 30 degrees C. Then, thirty-nine readily available different theoretical methods, both including and excluding solvent, were used to calculate the structure of the transition state, the activation energy, and the kinetic isotope effects for the reaction. A comparison of the experimental and theoretical results by using semiempirical, ab initio, and density functional theory methods has shown that the density functional methods are most successful in calculating the experimental isotope effects. With two exceptions, including solvent in the calculation does not improve the fit with the experimental KIEs. Finally, none of the transition states and force constants obtained from the theoretical methods was able to predict all six of the KIEs found by experiment. Moreover, none of the calculated transition structures, which are all early and loose, agree with the late (product-like) transition-state structure suggested by interpreting the experimental KIEs.     

Viscosities and Refractive Indices of Binary Mixtures of Dimethylsulphoxide with Some Aromatic Hydrocarbons at Different Temperatures: An Experimental and Theoretical Study

The viscosities, η, and refractive indices, n, of pure dimethylsulphoxide (DMSO), benzene, toluene, o‐xylene, m‐xylene, p‐xylene and mesitylene, and those of their 54 binary mixtures, with DMSO as common component, covering the whole composition range have been measured at 298.15, 303.15, 308.15, 313.15, and 318.15 K. From the experimental data, the deviations in viscosity, Δη and deviations in molar refraction, ΔR_m have been calculated. The variation of these parameters with composition and temperature of the mixtures have been discussed in terms of molecular interaction in these mixtures. The effect of the number and position of the methyl groups in these aromatic hydrocarbons on molecular interactions in these mixtures has also been discussed. The free energies, ΔG^*, enthalpies, ΔH^* and entropies, ΔS^* of activation of viscous flow have also been obtained by using Eyring viscosity equation. The ΔH^* values were found independent of temperature. The dependence of these thermodynamic parameters on composition of the mixtures has been discussed. Further, the viscosities and refractive indices of these binary mixtures were calculated theoretically from pure component data by using various empirical and semi‐empirical relations and the results were compared with the experimental findings.