Kinetics Of Ester Hydrolysis Catalyzed By Digestion

Kinetics of Ester Hydrolysis Catalyzed By Imidazole
Experiment 3

Ban He
Lab Partner: Colton Kincy
TA: Ally Fairman
September 19, 2014

Abstract:
The purpose of the experiment was to study the kinetics of the hydrolysis of ester, p-nitrophenyl acetate (NPA) that is catalyzed by the buffer imidazole (Im). In terms of kinetics, specifically speaking, the rate of reaction as determined by the concentration, reaction orders, and rate constant with each species in a chemical reaction. By using the concentration of the catalyst and the temperature, the overall reaction rate was determined. The rate constants of K0, Kobs, and Kcat can be derived via the plotting of the absorbtion at 400nm of p-nitrophenol vs. the concentration of the catalyst imidazole. Lastly, the free energy of activation, ΔGǂ, that is necessary to force the reactant’s transformation of the reactants to the transition state structure will be determined by using the equation ΔGǂ = ΔHǂ – TΔSǂ derived from the Eyring plot.

Introduction:
The purpose of the experiment is to study the rate of reaction through varying of concentrations of a catalyst or temperatures with a constant pH, and through the data obtained the rate law, constants, and activation energies can be experimentally determined. The rate law determines how the speed of a reaction occurs thus allowing the study of the overall mechanism formation in reactions. In the general form of the rate law it is A + B  C or r=k[A]x[B]y. The rate of reaction can be affected by the concentration such as A and B in the previous equation, order of reactions, and the rate constant with each species in an overall chemical reaction. As a result, the rate law must be determined experimentally. In general, in a multi-step reac...

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...eases, including temperature. It is determined from the data that the reaction is more likely to have a step wise mechanism than a concerted due to the small – ΔS and a relatively large value of ΔH from the tables. Due to some errors, it is best to perform another experiment for future protocols. In addition with the variance the 35°C where at one point the absorbance levels off and then increases. In comparison to the rate constant against temperatures, at 25°C it is higher than 35 and 45. More test is required to ensure proper determination of the rate constant at those temperatures.

Acknowledgement:
We thank the University of Oklahoma and the chemistry faculty for providing the space, instructions, and equipment for the development of this report and experiment.
References:
1. Physical Chemistry I Laboratory Manual, University of Oklahoma, Fall 2014, pg. 37 – 44