Dediazoniation of 1-naphthalenediazonium tetrafluoroborate in aqueous acid and in micellar solutions

We have measured the rates and product yields of dediazoniation of 1-naphthalenediazonium (1ND) tetrafluoroborate in the presence and absence of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micellar aggregates by employing a combination of UV–vis spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) measurements. Kinetic data were obtained by a derivatization procedure with product yields were determined by HPLC. HPLC chromatograms show that in aqueous acid and in micellar solutions only one dediazoniation product is formed in significant quantities, 1-naphthol (NOH), and the observed rate constants (k_obs) are the same when 1ND loss is monitored spectrometrically and when NOH formation is monitored by HPLC. Activation parameters were obtained both in the presence and absence of SDS micellar aggregates. In both the systems, the enthalpies of activation are high and the entropies of activation are positive. The enthalpy of activation in the absence of SDS is very similar to that in the presence of SDS micelles, but the entropy of activation is lower by a factor of 4. As a consequence, SDS micelles speed up the thermal decomposition of 1ND and increase k_obs by a factor of 1.5 when SDS] = 0.02 M. In contrast, results obtained in the presence of complexing systems such as crown ethers and polyethers show significant stabilization of the parent arenediazonium ions. Kinetic and HPLC data are consistent with the heterolytic D_N + A_N mechanism that involves the rate-determining fragmentation of the arenediazonium ion into a very reactive phenyl cation that reacts competitively with available nucleophiles. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 40: 301–309, 2008