Electrostatic modulation by ionic aggregates: charge transfer transitions in solutions of lithium perchlorate-diethyl...

The ionic environment within solutions of lithium perchlorate-diethyl ether (LPDE) was probed by utilizing the extraordinary spectral shifts these media impart on various nitroanilines at 25 degrees C. These compounds all have UV-visible spectra that are sensitive to the polarity of the medium and the nitroanilines investigated all exhibited varying degrees of solvatochromatic behavior in LPDE solutions. In all cases, the low-energy absorbance band exhibited a dependence upon LiClO(4) concentration throughout the entire solubility range investigated. For 4-nitroaniline and N,N-dimethyl-4-nitroaniline bathochromic shifts of 51.3 and 62.0 nm, respectively, were observed on going from pure ether to a 5.7 M LPDE solution, corresponding to a stabilization of 10.55 and 11.13 kcal mol(-1), respectively, for this transition. Thus, as the medium changes from diethyl ether to one containing ionic clusters of lithium perchlorate-diethyl ether, less energy is required to transfer the molecules from their ground states to their first excited states. For 2,6-dibromo- and 2,6-diiodo-4-nitroaniline smaller red shifts of 19.0 and 9.0 nm, respectively, were noted over the same concentration range of LPDE, resulting in stabilizations of 4.45 and 2.11 kcal mol(-1), respectively. Analysis of the observed molar transition energies indicates that for 4-nitroaniline and N,N-dimethyl-4-nitroaniline the stabilization of the zwitterionic excited states of such push-pull molecules is on the order of 2.0 kcal mol(-1) per mol of added salt. Furthermore, such stabilization is independent of the composition of the media. Thus these compounds can act as solvent polarity indicators for LPDE solutions throughout the entire solubility range of LiClO(4) in diethyl ether. As such, linear relationships are seen between the E(T) values of 4-nitroaniline and N,N-dimethyl-4-nitroaniline and the log of the second-order rate constants for the [4+2] cycloaddition reaction of 9,10-dimethylanthracene and acrylonitrile in LPDE. We also observe linear relationships between the E(T) values of 4-nitroaniline and N,N-dimethyl-4-nitroaniline and the keto-enol ratio of acetylacetone in LPDE.