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BSc/MSc/BTech Chemistry Lab Expt: Determination of Arrhenius Parameters in the Kinetic Study of Acid Catalysed Hydrolysis of Ester



Determination of Arrhenius Parameters in the Kinetic Study of Acid Catalysed Hydrolysis of Ester 

 Introduction:

Chemical reactions and reaction rate

Chemical kinetics is the part of physical chemistry that studies reaction rates. The reaction rate for a reactant or product in a particular reaction is intuitively defined as how fast a reaction takes place. Through the study of chemical kinetics, one can reasonably get an idea as to how to alter the reaction conditions and improve the reaction rate, which is necessary to increase the production of chemical products in the industry perspective. It will also help us to learn how to suppress or slow down unwanted side reactions.

For a generic reaction: A+B →C

The simple rate equation is of the form: 


The concentration is usually in mol cm-3 and k is the reaction rate coefficient or rate constant.

Although it is not really a constant, because it includes everything that affects reaction rate outside concentration: mainly temperature, ionic strength, surface area of the adsorbent or light irradiation (in the case of photochemical reactions).

The exponents a & b are called reaction orders and depend on the reaction mechanism. The stoichiometric coefficients and reaction orders are very often equal, but only in one step reactions. 

Acid-catalysed Hydrolysis of Methyl Esters 

The hydrolysis of ester is catalysed by either an acid or base. This can be achieved in a number of ways. The most common method is to use a Lewis acid or Bronsted acid to form a positively charged intermediate that is far more reactive and even mild nucleophiles such as water will react.

Aim of the Experiment:

To determine the rate constant of the acid-catalysed hydrolysis of ethyl acetate and to calculate the Arrhenius parameters.

Principle:

The hydrolysis of an ester occurs according to the equation:


The following rate equation is applicable to the above reaction:

Rate α [Ester] [H2O]

Since [H2O] remains constant,


where, ‘c’ represents concentration of the ester at any time t; k1' is the pseudo 1st order rate coefficient. As the reaction progresses, the accumulation of acetic acid increases. Drawing a known volume of the reaction mixture at known regular intervals of time and titrating it against standard sodium hydroxide solution will indicate the increase in acetic acid presence.

The acid hydrolysis of ester is a first-order bimolecular reaction, and the reaction follows pseudo first order kinetics. This is because the amount of water is in large excess so that its concentration does not change significantly to alter the reaction rate. The reaction goes practically to completion (the equilibrium shifts to the right) and the rate is first order with respect to the ester. 

Overall, rate coefficient of a reaction (k) is given by,



Where, A = pre-exponential factor, Ea = Activation energy of the reaction, T= Temperature, R = Universal Gas Constant (8.314 JK-1 mol-1)

Requirements:

Reagents and solutions:  Ethyl acetate, 0.5(N) HCl, ~0.2(N) NaOH, Phenolphthalein indicator, Ice cubes, 0.1(N) oxalic acid

Apparatus: Burette 50mL, Pipettes-5mL, 10mL, Conical flasks, Wash bottle Reaction bottle 250mL.

Procedure for Standardisation of NaOH using standard 0.1N Oxalic Acid

10mL (VOx)of given 0.1N standard Oxalic acid (NOx) is pipetted out into a 100mL conical flask. This solution is titrated against the given unknown concentration of NaOH using phenolphthalein indicator until the end point is colourless to pale pink. Note the end point volume as VNaOH. Tabulate the values and repeat the titration for concurrent readings and determine the unknown concentration of supplied NaOH solution.

 

Initial burette reading (Vinitial)

mL

Final burette reading (Vfinal)

mL

Consumed volume,

VNaOH=Vinitial-Vfinal

mL

Average volume of NaOH, (VNaOH)avg

mL

Trial-1

 

 

 

 

Trial-2

 

 

 

 

Calculation: 


Find out, concentration of NaOH, NNaOH = ____________(N).

Procedure for Determination of Kinetics for Ester Hydrolysis:

Exactly 100 mL of 0.5N-hydrochloric acid solution are taken in a 250 mL conical flask and exactly 5 mL of the ester is added to it. Zero time (t=0) is noted when half the volume of ester solution in the pipette is transferred into flask. After thorough mixing, immediately 10 mL of the solution is pipetted out into a clean conical flask containing ice cubes. It is then titrated against standardised NaOH solution from the burette using phenolphthalein indicator. The end-point is the first appearance of a pale permanent pink colour. The volume of at end point is noted as V0. The same volumes of the reaction mixture are withdrawn at regular intervals, say 10 minutes and is titrated against sodium hydroxide solution. The end point volume at each t, is noted as Vt. The reaction is allowed to go to completion by keeping the reaction mixture over a hot water bath for about 30 minutes. The final reading is then noted as V.

Calculations:

Let V0 be the volume of alkali used at zero time and Vt. be the volume of alkali used after the time ‘t’ seconds. Let V be the reading when the reaction is completed. Concentrations of the ester at various time intervals are expressed in terms of volume of NaOH solution.

       a= initial concentration of ester = (V - Vo)

(a-x) = concentration of ester at any time ‘t’ = (V - VO) – (Vt – Vo)

                                                                             = (V - Vo – Vt + Vo)

                                                                            = (V - Vt)

The specific rate constant of the reactions is given by 



The rate constant values are calculated at different time intervals which should nearly be the same. A graph is drawn between log(V - Vt) and time ‘t’.  From the slope of the plot, the rate constant is calculated, and it is compared with the experimental value.



Table-1





Supplied data: Activation energy of the reaction, Ea = 29.775 kJ mol-1 for 283-313 K. (Citak et al., J. Inst. Sci. Tech. 2019, 9(1), 382-388). Use this data and average rate coefficient to calculate the Arrhenius parameters.

Results:

Room temperature = _____°C. =________K.

Vꝏ = ________mL; V0 =________mL.

The results are as follows: (mention with units)

1.                  Calculated rate coefficient value (kavg) = ___________________

2.                  Graphical rate coefficient value (from Slope, kGraph) = __________________

3.                  Intercept on y-axis (=log a) =__________________

4.                  Calculate, a = ____________.

5.                  Half-life of the reaction,


=________________________.

6.                  Arrhenius Pre-Exponential Factor (A) = _____________________.

7.                  Order of the reaction = _________________________

8.                  Molecularity of the reaction = ___________________

9.                  Comment on the nature of the graph.

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