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Control of Chemical Equilibrium by Solvent: A Basis for Teaching Physical Chemistry of Solutions

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Oleg V. Prezhdo and Colleen F. Craig

Department of Chemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1700

Yuriy Fialkov

Department of Physical Chemistry, Ukrainian National Technical University, Kiev, Ukraine

Victor V. Prezhdo

Institute of Chemistry, Jan Kochanowski University, 25-020 Kielce, Poland

J. Chem. Educ., 2007, 84 (8), p 1348

DOI: 10.1021/ed084p1348

Publication Date (Web): August 1, 2007

Section:

History, Education, and Documentation

Abstract

The mechanisms by which solvent can be used to control chemical equilibria are analyzed from a thermodynamic perspective and illustrated with several examples. The solvent effect is described in terms of universal- and specific-solvation components, and the practical and pedagogical means of separating these components are discussed. The exceptional ability to influence reaction yields simply by choice of solvent or composition of a solvent mixture is demonstrated with homo- and hetero-molecular association and conformational equilibrium. The material presented here provides an important addition to the physical chemistry curriculum that has been largely overlooked in traditional textbooks.