Solute–solvent effects in the dissociation of thymolsulfonephthalein (an uncharged acid) in aqueous mixtures of acetonitrile (ACN), urea, and dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO)

Abstract

The thermodynamic first dissociation constants, [Formula: see text] of thymolsulfonephthalein (H2A), an uncharged acid, have been determined at 25 °C in aqueous mixtures of 10, 30, 50, 70, and 80 wt% acetonitrile (ACN), 11.52, 20.31, 29.64, and 36.83 wt% urea, 20, 40, 60, and 80 wt% dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) by spectrophotometric measurements. The solvent effect represented by ∂(ΔG0) = 2.303RT[p(sK)N − p(wK)N] is found to increase in ACN + H2O system as mol% ACN increases in the solvent. In contrast, the corresponding values in urea + H2O as well as DMSO + H2O solvent systems decrease with increase in proportion of organic component in the solvent, the decrease being sharp in urea + H2O. The results have been discussed in terms of the standard Gibbs energies of transfer of H+ from water to the mixed solvent, [Formula: see text] and the relative values of the standard Gibbs energies of transfer of HA−, [Formula: see text] and of [Formula: see text] in all the solvent systems. The overall dissociation behaviour of the acid (H2A) is found to be dictated by the specific solute-solvent interactions of the species participating in the dissociation equilibria.