IONIZATION OF ETHANOLAMINES IN WATER- ORGANIC MEDIA

Abstract

In this paper, the ionization constants (pKa) of some nitrogen-containing organic bases (monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine) in water-ethanol, water-acetone and water-acetonitrile solutions at various concentrations of organic solvent in the studied systems have been determined by the potentiometric titration method. It was found that the values of pKa of monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine in aqueous-organic solutions naturally decreases with increasing concentration of organic solvent in the system. It was shown that their nature and the physico-chemical properties of the medium are significantly influenced by the nature and degree of change in the electron donor ability of the studied nitrogen-containing organic bases. It should be noted that for the studied nitrogen-containing organic bases (monoethanolamine, diethanolamine and triethanolamine), when passing from an aqueous medium to an organic one (ethanol or acetone or acetonitrile), the pKa values naturally decrease with an increase in the content of the organic solvent in the system. In general, in the transition from an aqueous medium to an organic one (ethanol or acetone or acetonitrile), a change in pKa can reach 1.73 units. It was established that the dependence of the values of pKa of nitrogen-containing organic bases which were determinate via potentiometric titration method on the inverse of the dielectric constant of water-ethanol and water-acetone or water-acetonitrile solutions tends to be linear, consistent with Izmailov’s theory. Thus, we can conclude that the change in the ratio of the mixed solvent components and, as a result, in general, dielectric permeability of the medium does not lead to a significant change in the solvation characteristics of the studied nitrogen-containing organic bases.