Kinetic study of the equilibrium in the methanesulfonic acid-water system

A kinetic study of the hydrolysis of ethyl isovalerate in the methanesulfonic acid-water system from pure water to 60.5% CH₃SO₃H at 25°C showed that the hydrolysis rate is directly proportional to the concentration of H₅O₂ ⁺ ions determined by IR spectroscopy. The hydrolysis mechanism is the same as in hydrochloric acid and sulfuric acid solutions. Evidence was found for correctness of the measurements of the equilibrium concentrations of molecules and ions in aqueous methanesulfonic acid solutions by multiple frustrated total internal reflection IR spectroscopy. The possibility was demonstrated for an independent measurement of the equilibrium concentrations of H₅O₂ ⁺ ions by a kinetic method in aqueous acid solutions.Translated from Izvestiya Akademii Nauk SSSR, Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 7, pp. 1694–1697, July, 1991.