Conductivities of a number of uni-univalent salts, including
tetrabutylammonium and lithium nitrophenolates,
were measured at 25.0 °C in low-permittivity solvents such as
tetrahydrofuran (THF, εr = 7.58),
1,2-dimethoxyethane (DME, 7.2), chloroform (4.8), and ethyl acetate
(6.0). Minima in the conductometric
curves (Λ−C
1/2) were observed for
concentrations which were dependent upon both the salt and the
solvent,
C
min = 1.73 × 10-4
mol dm-3 for
2,4-(NO2)2C10H5OLi
(lithium 2,4-dinitro-1-naphtholate) in THF and 2.56
× 10-2 mol dm-3
for LiPic (lithium picrate) in DME. The observed molar
conductivities including C
min
could be completely explained by the formation of ion pairs
(M+ + X- ⇌ MX,
K
1), “symmetrical” triple
ions (2M+ + X- ⇌
M2X-, K
2;
M+ + 2X- ⇌
MX2
-, K
3;
K
2 = K
3), and (in some
cases) additional formation
of quadrupoles (2MX ⇌ M2X2,
K
41). A linear relationship (the slope of
−1) between the triple ion formation
constants
(log(K
2/K
1)) and the
salt concentrations at the minimum (log C
min)
was given for all the salts in the
various solvents, except for some systems in which a distinct formation
of quadrupole takes place, e.g., LiNO3
in DME (K
1 = 3.16 × 1010,
K
2 = 4.5 × 1013, and
K
41 = 35). The formation of triple ions
might be attributed
to the ion sizes in solutions in which Coulombic interactions were the
only main forces between ions
(R4N+···X-).
However, coordination (or covalent) bonding forces as well as
Coulombic forces had to be
considered for the lithium salts except for LiClO4 and
LiBF4). Gutmann's donor and acceptor
numbers
of solvents (and not the permittivity) accounted for the larger
difference of C
min of lithium salts in THF
and
DME. In mixed solvents of THF and 2-ethyl-1-hexanol
(εr = 7.58), the C
min values of
LiNO3 and 2,4-(NO2)2C10H5OLi
increased with increasing contents of the hexanol, whereas the
C
min values of LiClO4
and
Bu4NX (X- =
NO3
-,
2,4-(NO2)2C10H5O-,
and ClO4
-) remained constant for 0−30 vol
% hexanol added
to THF. The positive shifts in C
min were
explained quantitatively by the decrease in triple ion
formation
constants and/or by an increase in the quadrupole formation
constants.