Effect of cosolvent on the volume of activation for base hydrolysis of tris(1.10‐phenanthroline)‐ and tris (2.2′‐bipyridine)iron(II) complexes

The kinetics of the base hydrolysis of Fe(phen)₃²⁺ and Fe(bipy)₃²⁺ (phen = 1,10‐phenanthroline and bipy = 2,2'‐bipyridine) in some aqueous alcohol mixtures at ambient and elevated pressures (up to 1kbar) have been monitored spectrophotometrically at 25.0°C. For a given pressure, the alcohol cosolvent increases the rate of reaction relative to the reaction in a wholly aqueous medium. In all cases, increasing pressure causes rate retardation and derived volumes of activation for the reactions in aqueous solvent mixtures vary between +15 and +25 cm³ mol⁻¹, indicating that solvation changes of a different magnitude occur upon reaching the transition state from those occurring for the reactions in aqueous medium. Since the reaction has been established earlier to be nucleophilic attack of the incoming hydroxide ion, the volumes of activation signify marked increases in the loss of electrostricted solvent from the vicinities of the hydroxide ion and the iron(II) complex ions. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 32: 263–270, 2000