Stability and nature of complexes of the type MCl+ in aqueous solution (M=Mn,Co, Ni,and Zn)

Equilibrium constants have been determined both potentiometrically and spectrophotometrically for reactions of the type M²⁺+Cl^??MCl⁺ using aqueous solutions of the corresponding metal perchlorates as the reaction media (M=Mn, Co, Ni, and Zn). The variation in the quotient of the activity coefficients of these reactions with increasing molality of the reaction medium has been found to be approximately the same for the CuCl⁺ (previously studied), MnCl⁺, and ZnCl⁺ complexes, while a different dependence is observed for the CoCl⁺ and NiCl⁺ complexes. The results are interpreted as indicating equilibrium coexistence of the MCl(OH₂)₅]⁺ and {M(OH₂)₆]Cl}⁺ species in the latter two cases. Approximate values of the corresponding equilibrium constants are estimated in addition to the derived overall thermodynamic stability constants of the MCl⁺ formal complexes. The latter are found to follow a partly inverted Irving-Williams series, the fact being accountable in terms of the ligand field stabilization energy.