Bridging the concepts of homogeneous
and heterogeneous reactions
is an important challenge in modern chemistry. Toward that end, here,
we connect the homogeneous chemistry concept of the Hammett parameter,
used by organic and organometallic chemists to quantify the electron-withdrawing
capability of a functional group, to the electrochemical concept of
polarization induced by a biased electrode. Because these two effects
share similar origins, a theoretically motivated and experimentally
verifiable link between them can be established. A convenient experiment
that links the two is measuring the shift of vibrational frequency
that is induced by these factors. To achieve this, first, we have
measured the vibrational frequency of the nitrile stretch of 4-R-benzonitrile
for a series of functional groups R spanning the Hammett parameter
range −0.83 ≤ σp ≤ +1.11. Because
the nitrile stretch is sensitive to molecular polarization, its frequency
depends on the Hammett parameter of the polarizing functional groups.
Second, we have measured the nitrile vibrational frequency of 4-mercaptobenzonitrile
tethered on a gold electrode and polarized in an electrochemical cell
as a function of potential from −1.4 to +0.6 V versus Ag/AgCl.
Comparison of the nitrile-stretch frequency between the two experiments
allows us to correlate the polarization caused by a functional group
to that induced by the electrode. The data suggest equivalence between
the Hammett parameter σp and the local electric field
at the electrode interface, therefore allowing a polarizing electrode
to be treated as a functional group. Computational work supports the
experimental results and allows for a quantitative relation between
the interfacial electric field and σp. We anticipate
the benefits of this correlation, in particular, in linking concepts
between homogeneous and heterogeneous reactions.