Study of the Solvent Effect on Acid Catalysed Hydrolysis of Ethyl Formate in Water DMF Medium

Department of Chemistry, Patna University, Patna-800 005

Manuscript received 2 September 1980, revised 6 April 1981, accepted 14 August 1981

Acid catalysed hydrolysis of ethyl formate was studied in DMF-water mixtures of varying compositions, starting from 0 to 60% of DMF (v/v) at different temperatures ranging from 20° to 40^o'. The rate decreases with increasing percentage of DMF. The isocomposition activation energy. E_exp, was evaluated using Arrhenius equation. Enthalpy of activation \(\bigtriangleup\)H*. free energy of activation \(\bigtriangleup\)G* and entropy of activation \(\bigtriangleup\)S*, were calculated using Wynne-Jones and Eyring equation. The trends of variation of these values have been found to reveal the solvation mechanisms by the medium. The variation in rates and activation parameters of the reaction in the medium have been compared with that of water-DMSO medium. The effects of variation of hydrogen ion and back-ground electrolyte were also studied.