Kinetics of ammoniation of some halobis(ethylenediamine)-rhodium(III) perchlorates in liquid ammonia

Summary The ammoniation ofcis-[Rh(en)₂Cl₂] · (ClO₄) in liquid NH₃ was studied at constant ionic medium of 0.20 m perchlorate in the 0 to 35° range. The complex reacts in two distinct steps to givecis-[Rh(en)₂(NH₃)₂] · (ClO₄)₃, with the intermediate formation ofcis-[Rh(en)₂(NH₃)Cl] · (ClO₄)₂. Both steps follow a conjugate-base mechanism. Activation parameters were obtained for the acid-base preequilibrium and the rate-determining step. The entropies of activation for the rate-determining step are 0 and –42 JK^–1mol^–1 for the first and second ammoniations respectively. These values are considerably lower than those found for the cobalt(III) analogues. The entropy changes for the acid-base equilibria are –84 and –36 JK^–1mol^–1 respectively, which is less negative than those values found for the cobalt(III) analogues.Trans-[Rh(en)₂I₂] · (ClO₄) ammoniates totrans-[Rh(en)₂(NH₃)I] · (ClO₄)₂. The contribution of spontaneous ammoniation to the overall reaction oftrans-[Rh(en)₂I₂] · (ClO₄) is negligible, so the uniqueness oftrans-[Co(en)₂Cl₂] · (ClO₄) among cobalt(III) complexes in this respect is not reproduced for thetrans-dihalotetraamine structure in rhodium(III) complexes. A comparison of cobalt(III) and rhodium(III) amines with respect to activation parameters and the influence of formal charge of the metal complex on reactivity indicates a more associative type of activation for rhodium(III).