Chemistry at and near the Surface of Liquid Sulfuric Acid: A Kinetic, Thermodynamic, and Mechanistic Analysis of Heterogeneous Reactions of Acetone

Abstract

The interactions of gas-phase acetone with liquid sulfuric acid solutions are described. The solutions were prepared as 0.05−0.10 μm thick films deposited on single-crystal metal substrates. Experiments were carried out over broad ranges of acid composition (70 − >96 wt % H2SO4), temperature (180−220 K), and acetone pressure (10-7−10-3 Pa). Two types of measurements are reported: the time-dependent acetone uptake probability, and the infrared spectra of absorbed acetone and its reaction products. From the infrared measurements, a reaction scheme is identified in which gas-phase acetone is taken up by sulfuric acid to form protonated acetone. In solutions containing more than 70 wt % H2SO4, protonated acetone undergoes a self-condensation/dehydration reaction to form mesityl oxide. In films that contain 85 wt % or more H2SO4, a second reaction sequence occurs, ultimately resulting in the formation of trimethylbenzene. The uptake probability measurements are consistent with the infrared data. In 70 wt % H2SO4, the acetone uptake probability rapidly decreases from an initial value near unity to a steady-state value of zero, due to the formation of a saturated acetone + sulfuric acid solution. The Henry's law solubility constants of acetone in 70 wt % H2SO4 were obtained from the integrated uptake measurements. The temperature dependence of the measurements implies that the standard-state enthalpy and entropy changes of acetone solution in 70 wt % sulfuric acid are −66 kJ mol-1 and −249 J mol-1 K-1, respectively. In the more concentrated films, the steady-state uptake probability is never measured to be zero, since absorbed acetone goes on to form the condensation/dehydration products. A two-step kinetic scheme is proposed to account for the reactions of acetone in sulfuric acid. By fitting the data to the model predictions, the Henry's law solubility constants and the reaction rate constants may be estimated.