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).