Catalytic Activity and Reactivity of Aromatic Nitrile and Alkali Metal Ion Radical Salt. I. Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis of Benzonitrile-Cesium Ion Radical Salt

Abstract

Abstract Homogeneous and heterogeneous mechanisms of parahydrogen conversion and hydrogen-deuterium exchange reactions were investigated in the presence of benzonitrile–cesium ion radical salt. Studies of their activation energies and rate constants showed that the heterogeneous reaction on the solid-ion radical salt occurs mainly through the “chemisorption mechanism” and the “exchange mechanism”, but the homogeneous reaction over the salt solution in benzonitrile takes place only through the “physical mechanism.” According to these results, it was concluded that the catalytic activity and reactivity of the ion-radical salt must be due to the nature of its solid phase, not to that of its aromatic anion or free-ion radical pair.