The kinetics of the solvolysis of chloropentacyanocobaltate(III) ions in water containing 2-methoxyethanol or diethylene glycol: A contrast with the effect of more hydrophobic cosolvents

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The kinetics of the solvolysis of [Co(CN)5Cl]3− have been investigated in water +2-methoxyethanol and water + diethylene glycol mixtures. Although the addition of these linear hydrophilic cosolvent molecules to water produces curvature in the variation of log(rate constant) with the reciprocal of the dielectric constant, their effect on the enthalpy and entropy of activation is minimal, unlike the effect of hydrophobic cosolvents. The application of a Gibbs energy cycle to the solvolysis in water and in the mixtures using either solvent-sorting or TATB values for the Gibbs energy of transfer of the chloride ion between water and the mixture shows that the relative stability of the emergent solvated Co(III) ion in the transition state compared to that of Co(CN)5Cl3− in the initial state increases with increasing content of cosolvent in the mixture. By comparing the effects of other cosolvents on the solvolysis, this differential increase in the relative stabilities of the two species increases with the degree of hydrophobicity of the cosolvent.