Abstract
THERE is some evidence1,2 that, in solutions made by dissolving sodium hydroxide in ethanol, much of the hydroxyl ion is replaced by ethoxide, the equilibrium OH− + EtOH ⇌ OEt− + H2O lying well to the right. We have confirmed this by measuring the equilibrium constant K = [OEt−][H2O]/[OH−][EtOH] at 25° C, using solutions made by dissolving sodium or sodium hydroxide in ethanol–water mixtures containing 10–50 per cent water by weight. The method adopted makes use of the fact that trinitrotoluene ionizes to give an intensely coloured ion in the presence of ethoxide3. The concentration of ethoxide ion in the solutions can thus be determined colorimetrically, and that of hydroxide ion can then be found by determining the total base concentration by titration.
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References
Williams and Bost, J. Chem. Phys., 4, 251 (1936).
Baker, J. W., and Neale, A. J. (preceding communication).
Caldin, Long and Trowse, Nature [171, 1124 (1953)].
Caldin and Trickett, Trans. Farad. Soc. [49, 772 (1953)]. Caldin and Long (unpublished results).
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CALDIN, E., LONG, G. Equilibrium between Ethoxide and Hydroxide Ions in Ethanol. Nature 172, 583–584 (1953). https://doi.org/10.1038/172583b0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/172583b0
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