Influence of solvent structure on the aquation of K‐chloro(diethylenetriamine)(ethylenediamine) cobalt(III) ion in water and mixed aqueous solvents

The aquation of K‐Co(dien)(en)Cl]²⁺ was followed spectrophotometrically within the temperature range (40–60°C) in water, water–isopropyl alcohol, and water–tert‐butyl alcohol media of varying solvent composition up to 50 and 60 vol% of the organic solvent component respectively. The nonlinear plot of log k vs. D^?1_s was attributed to the differential solvation of the initial and transition states. The variation of ΔH^≠, ΔS^≠, and ΔG^≠ with the mole fraction of the organic component was analyzed and discussed. The isokinetic temperatures were found to be 330 and 317 K for water–isopropyl alcohol and water–tert‐butly alcohol mixtures respectively, indicating that the aquation reaction is entropy controlled. The application of free energy cycle at 25°C for the aquation reaction in both co‐solvents suggests that the transition state is more stable than the initial one. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 34: 1–6, 2002