Reaction of H+ with tetraphenylborates : an example of an EC mechanism at liquid/liquid interfaces

Abstract

The reaction of H⁺ electrochemically transferred from an aqueous to an organic immiscible phase, with tetraphenylborate and tetrakis(4-chlorophenyl)borate has been studied by cyclic voltammetry and potential-step measurements. The theory of these EC reactions is presented, and it is shown that the rate constant of the chemical step following charge transfer can be easily estimated from the sweep-rate dependence of the voltammograms, by analysing the conditions for which a minimum in the reverse sweep is not observed.