Clathration by para-substituted phenols

Abstract

In addition to phenol it has been shown that p-cresol and p-fluoro-, chloro-, bromo-, ethyl-, t-butyl-and phenylphenols readily form clathrates with some or all of Ar, Kr, Xe, CH₄, C₂H₆, C₃H₈, n-C₄H₁₀ and i-C₄H₁₀. Saturation values have been obtained for the ratios guest: host which have a similar pattern among the various phenols, suggesting that the host structures all resemble that of phenol. To effect clathration easily, at temperatures which could be as low as –196°C, it was necessary only to agitate the host crystals with small ball-bearings. Isotherms were determined for a number of systems and mixture separation was also investigated by clathration with ice, phenol and p-cresol.