Aquation of α-cis-chloroaquoethylenediamine-N,N'-diacetatocobalt(III) in aqueous and in mixed solvents: A mechanistic study

Summary The displacement of chloride ligands from -cis-chloro-aquoethylenediamine-N,N-diacetatocobalt(III) in nonacidic aqueous solutions was followed conductimetrically at 30–45° and the products of aquation were characterised by conductance, spectral and ion-exchange techniques. The rate constants for aquation in aqueous media and in 1 : 4 v : v mixed solvents at 25° are: 4.0 × 10^–5 s^–1 in H₂O, 2.71 × 10^–5 s^–1 in MeOH : H₂O, 2.74 × 10^–5 s^–1 in EtOH: H₂,O and 2.58 × 10^–5 s^–1 n in Me₂CO : H₂O. The corresponding H* and S* values have also been evaluated. Solvent polarity has a marked influence on the rate of chloride ion release. The aquation rate constants and the activation parameters have been correlated with solvent parameters,e.g. D, Y-values, Dimroth's E_T and Kosower's Z-values and, based on these correlations, a dissociative interchange (I_d) mechanism is proposed rather than dissociative as observed for some other cobalt(III) complexes.Senior author.