Comparison of the Diffusion of Aqueous Glycine Hydrochloride and Aqueous Glycine

A Taylor dispersion tube has been used to measure mutual diffusion in aqueous solutions of glycine hydrochloride at 25°C and concentrations from 0.0005 to 0.5 M. Analysis of the dispersion profiles shows that the diffusion of glycine hydrochloride (GlyHCl) produces a subtantial additional flow of hydrochloric acid that is liberated by the dissociation: GlyH⁺ + Cl^- Gly + H⁺ + Cl^-. Diffusion in this system is, therefore, a ternary process described by the equations J₁(GlyHCl) = – D₁₁C₁ – D₁₂C₂ and J₂(HCl) = –D₂₁C₁ – D₂₂C₂ for the coupled fluxes of total glycine hydrochloride (1) and hydrochloric acid (2) components. The ratio D₂₁/D₁₁ of measured diffusion coefficients indicates that up to two moles of HCl are cotransported per mole of GlyHCl. Although protonated glycine diffuses with relatively mobile Cl^– counterions, the main diffusion coefficient of glycine hydrochloride, D₁₁, is lower than or nearly identical to the diffusion coefficient of aqueous glycine. A model for the diffusion of protonated solutes is developed to interpret this result and the large coupled flows of HCl. Diffusion coefficients are also reported for the aqueous hydrochlorides of 3- and 4-aminobenzoic acids.