Thermodynamic Analysis of Anion and Cation Effects on the Keto-Enol Equilibrium in Ionic Liquids. A Comparative Study with Conventional Solvents

A comparative thermodynamic investigation of the keto−enol interconversion reaction has been performed in several organic solvents and room-temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) to evaluate the role of the solvent and the effect of the ionic composition of RTILs. The tautomeric constant (KT) values at different temperatures have been analyzed in terms of the van’t Hoff relationship to give the relevant thermodynamic parameters. The ΔG° values are the results of quite different combinations of the ΔH° and ΔS° values depending on the nature of the solvent. As expected, in conventional solvents, the tautomeric equilibrium is enthalpically disfavored and entropically favored by the increase in solvent polarity. In ionic liquids, the nature of the anion seems to play a primary role in the thermodynamics of the reaction that is endothermic and enthalpically driven in PF6- and TF2N-based RTILs and exothermic but entropically driven in BF4-based RTILs. The cation effect on the thermodynamics of the reaction is more complex and is consistent with a prevalence of the alkyl side chain segregation in the organization of the ILs.