Solvent dependence of the activation enthalpies of homolytic dissociation of metal–carbon bonds

Abstract

The activation enthalpies for the homolytic cobalt-carbon bond dissociation reactions of several organocobalt compounds in ethylene glycol were found to be 4–6 kcal mol^–1 higher than in toluene, reflecting the solvent dependence of the activation enthalpy of the reverse recombination process; failure to take account of this solvent dependence can introduce large errors in metal-carbon bond dissociation energies deduced from such kinetic measurements (1 kcal = 4.184 kJ).