skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: On the Dissociation of Methyl Orange: Spectrophotometric Investigation in Aqueous Solutions from 10 to 90ºC and Theoretical Evidence for Intramolecular Dihydrogen Bonding

Journal Article · · Journal of Solution Chemistry, 34(12):1387-1406

The dissociation of methyl orange was investigated by spectrophotometry in aqueous solutions from 10 to 90°C and by quantum chemical calculations. Combined chemometric and thermodynamic analyses of the spectrophotometric data were used to simultaneously extract the thermodynamic stabilities and the spectrophotometric attributes of the dominant methyl orange species in solutions containing less than 20.00 mmol kg-1 perchloric acid and submicromolal concentrations of methyl orange. The analyses revealed the presence of only one monomeric deprotonated and one monomeric protonated species. The spectra did not reveal any evidence for the presence of tautomeric equilibria between the protonated azo and ammonium species in the experimental range studied. Thermodynamic analyses of the temperature dependent dissociation constants showed the reactions to be endothermic and enthalpy driven reaction with increasing acidity and increasing temperature. All molar absorption coefficients in the 275-375 nm range can be adequately reproduced in the 10-90°C range with a set of Gauss-Lorentz parameters and used to predict the absorption spectra for any desired condition. The dominant features of the spectrophotometric attributes of the methyl orange species could also be retrieved in Time Dependent-Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT) calculations. Topological analyses of the electron density also revealed the formation of a dihydrogen bond between the azo proton and an adjacent phenyl ring hydridic hydrogen which increases the stability of the azo molecules relative to the ammonium molecule.

Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
877590
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-47074; JSLCAG; TRN: US200608%%499
Journal Information:
Journal of Solution Chemistry, 34(12):1387-1406, Vol. 34, Issue 12; ISSN 0095-9782
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English