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Related Concept Videos

1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Mechanism01:37

1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Mechanism

Nitrous acid is a relatively weak and unstable acid prepared in situ by the reaction of sodium nitrite and cold, dilute hydrochloric acid. In an acidic solution, the nitrous acid undergoes protonation when it loses water to form a nitrosonium ion—an electrophile. Nitrous acid reacts with primary amines to give diazonium salts. The reaction is called diazotization of primary amines.
1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Overview01:26

1° Amines to Diazonium or Aryldiazonium Salts: Diazotization with NaNO2 Overview

Nitrous acid and nitric acids are two types of acids containing nitrogen, among which nitrous acid is weaker than nitric acid. Nitrous acid with a pKa value of 3.37 ionizes in water to give a nitrite ion and the hydronium ion.
The nitrous acid is unstable. Hence, it is formed in situ from a solution of sodium nitrite and cold aqueous acids such as hydrochloric or sulfuric acid. In an acidic solution, the –OH group of nitrous acid undergoes protonation to give oxonium ion, followed by water loss...
Nitriles to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis01:08

Nitriles to Carboxylic Acids: Hydrolysis

Nitriles undergo acid-catalyzed hydrolysis or base-catalyzed hydrolysis to form a carboxylic acid. These reactions proceed via an amide intermediate.
Polyprotic Acids03:38

Polyprotic Acids

Acids are classified by the number of protons per molecule that they can give up in a reaction. Acids such as HCl, HNO3, and HCN that contain one ionizable hydrogen atom in each molecule are called monoprotic acids. Their reactions with water are:
Titration of a Polyprotic Acid02:08

Titration of a Polyprotic Acid

A polyprotic acid contains more than one ionizable hydrogen and undergoes a stepwise ionization process. If the acid dissociation constants of the ionizable protons differ sufficiently from each other, then the titration curve for such polyprotic acid generates a distinct equivalence point for each of its ionizable hydrogens. Therefore, titration of a diprotic acid results in the formation of two equivalence points, whereas the titration of a triprotic acid results in the formation of three...
Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases02:16

Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases

In 1923, the Brønsted–Lowry definition of acids and bases was proposed by Johannes Brønsted and Thomas Lowry. According to this theory, a Brønsted acid is defined as a species that donates a proton in a chemical reaction and gets converted to its conjugate base. A Brønsted base is defined as a species that accepts a proton in a chemical reaction and gets converted into its conjugate acid. These transfers of protons are caused by the displacement of electrons in these reactions, which is...

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Isotopic Effect in Double Proton Transfer Process of Porphycene Investigated by Enhanced QM/MM Method
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Partial proton transfer in the nitric acid trihydrate complex.

Galen Sedo1, Jamie L Doran, Kenneth R Leopold

  • 1Department of Chemistry, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota 55455, USA.

The Journal of Physical Chemistry. A
|October 16, 2009
PubMed
Summary

Microwave spectroscopy revealed the structure of the nitric acid trihydrate complex, showing a near-planar 10-membered ring. This study tracks nitric acid ionization during sequential water molecule hydration.

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Line Shape Analysis of Dynamic NMR Spectra for Characterizing Coordination Sphere Rearrangements at a Chiral Rhenium Polyhydride Complex
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Line Shape Analysis of Dynamic NMR Spectra for Characterizing Coordination Sphere Rearrangements at a Chiral Rhenium Polyhydride Complex

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Published on: July 27, 2022

Area of Science:

  • Physical Chemistry
  • Spectroscopy
  • Computational Chemistry

Background:

  • Understanding the sequential hydration of acids like nitric acid (HNO(3)) is crucial for atmospheric chemistry and solvation processes.
  • Previous theoretical studies predicted various structures for nitric acid-water complexes, but experimental validation was limited.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To experimentally determine the structure of the gas-phase nitric acid trihydrate complex (HNO(3)-(H(2)O)(3)) using microwave spectroscopy.
  • To investigate the degree of proton transfer and ionization of nitric acid as a function of water molecule hydration.
  • To compare experimental findings with theoretical predictions and identify the lowest energy conformer.

Main Methods:

  • Gas-phase microwave spectroscopy of four isotopologues of HNO(3)-(H(2)O)(3) in a supersonic jet.
  • Determination of rotational and nuclear electric quadrupole coupling constants.
  • Computational analysis using the MP2/6-311++G(2d,2pd) level/basis set to predict and compare structures.

Main Results:

  • Observed a near-planar 10-membered ring structure for HNO(3)-(H(2)O)(3), consistent with theoretical predictions of the lowest energy conformer.
  • Experimental data, including (14)N quadrupole coupling constants, indicate approximately one-third proton transfer from nitric acid to the first water molecule in the trihydrate.
  • Evidence of internal dynamics within the complex suggests large amplitude motion of water subunits.

Conclusions:

  • The observed structure strongly suggests it is the minimum-energy conformer for nitric acid trihydrate.
  • The study provides experimental evidence for the sequential hydration of nitric acid and quantifies the degree of proton transfer.
  • This work advances the understanding of acid-water interactions and solvation at the molecular level.