Solvent Modification in Ion-Pair Extraction: Effect on Sodium Nitrate Transport in Nitrobenzene Using a Crown Ether

A comparative quantitative analysis of the effect of solventmodifiers on the ion-pair extraction of an inorganic salt by a crown ether was conducted with the aim of advancing the understanding of transport of highly hydrophilic metal ions from aqueous salt solutions. Two classes of solvent modifiers that possess electron-pair donor (EPD) or hydrogen-bond donor (HBD) groups were investigated. The equilibrium constants corresponding to the extraction of sodium nitrate into nitrobenzene (NB) employing model neutral host cis-syn-cis-dicyclohexano-18-crown-6 (compound 1) with and without solvent modifier were determined using the SXLSQI computer model. For a series of EPD modifiers—including tri-n-butyl- and tri-phenylphosphate, tri-n-butyl- and tri-phenylphosphine oxide, N,N-di-n-butyl- and N,N-di-phenylacetamide—the enhancement of the NaNO₃ extraction by compound 1 was found to be dependent on the hydrogen-bond acceptance ability of the modifier as quantified by the β solvatochromic parameter. A HBD modifier 3,5-di-t-butylphenol (compound 8), which forms strong hydrogen bonds with nitrate anion in NB, exhibited even greater enhancement of the NaNO₃ extraction by compound 1. The determined extraction constants were correlated with the β- or α-solvatochromic parameters of the solvent modifiers and linear trends were observed. Hydrogen bond interaction between compound 8 and nitrate anion in the presence of the sodium-loaded crown ether in the extraction phaseswas studied by vibrational spectroscopy.