The basicities of simple organic bases – aliphatic and aromatic amines, amidines, phosphazenes, as well as saturated and unsaturated nitrogen heterocycles – are examined in acetonitrile, dimethyl sulfoxide, tetrahydrofuran, water and the gas phase. The basicities (pKaH values) of conjugate acids of a large variety of bases in these media are presented and discussed. Equations employing easily usable structural descriptors have been derived for approximately converting basicities from acetonitrile to other solvents. Recommendations are given on their practical use and a number of pKaH values that are experimentally unavailable are estimated from these relationships. An important part of the minireview is a large compilation of pKaH and GB values of the compounds in solvents and the gas phase, respectively, as well as the revised basicity scale in acetonitrile, now containing more than 270 pKaH values.

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In this work we explored the relationship between the structure and solvent effects on the basicity of a large selection of conjugated N‐heterocyclic nitrogen bases in different media: the polar aprotic solvent acetonitrile, the polar protic solvent water and the gas phase. Altogether, 58 previously unpublished basicity values in different media for 39 compounds are presented, including 30 experimentally determined pKa values in acetonitrile. We present the pKa and gas‐phase basicity values for quino[7,8‐h]quinoline, which is one of the most basic conjugated nitrogen heterocyclic compounds without basicity‐enhancing substituents. The trends in basicity are rationalized by comparing the basicity data of related compounds in different solvents, as well as by using isodesmic reactions. The gas‐phase basicity is predominantly determined by the ability of a molecule to disperse the excess positive charge over a large number of atoms. In solution the situation is less clear and smaller systems with localized charge often lead to higher basicities because of solvent effects. In particular, it was found that the fusion of an additional benzene ring does not always lead to an increase in basicity in solution: its effect can be either basicity‐increasing or ‐decreasing, depending on the ring size, number and position of nitrogen atoms and medium. A correlation between the measured pKa values in MeCN and in water suggests that these two different solvents exert a similar effect on the basicity of the studied heterocycles.

The equilibrium acidity scale (pKa scale) in acetonitrile has been supplemented by numerous new compounds and new ΔpKa measurements. It now contains altogether 231 acids – over twice more than published previously – linked by 569 ΔpKa measurements and spans between the pKa values of hydrogen iodide (2.8) and indole (32.57), covering close to 30 orders of magnitude. Measurement results acquired over the last 15 years were added to the scale and new least‐squares treatment was carried out. The treatment yielded revised pKa values for the compounds published previously, with the root mean square difference between revised and previous values 0.04, demonstrating very good stability of the scale. Correlation equations were developed for estimating pKa values for the studied types of compounds in water, DMSO, DMF, and 1,2‐dichloroethane on the basis of pKa values in acetonitrile. These equations enable predicting pKa values with an average error around or less than 1 pKa unit, which is a sufficient accuracy for many applications. The scale is expected to be a useful tool for the widest possible research areas in organic chemistry, electrochemical power sources, catalysis, etc.

Experimental basicities of some of the strongest superbases ever measured (phosphonium ylides) are reported, and by employing these compounds, the experimental self-consistent basicity scale of superbases in THF, reaching a pKα (estimate of pKa) of 35 and spanning more than 30 pKa units, has been compiled. Basicities of 47 compounds (around half of which are newly synthesized) are included. The solution basicity of the well-known t-Bu-N═P4(dma)9 phosphazene superbase is now rigorously linked to the scale. The compiled scale is a useful tool for further basicity studies in THF as well as in other solvents, in particular, in acetonitrile. A good correlation between basicities in THF and acetonitrile spanning 25 orders of magnitude gives access to experimentally supported very high (pKa > 40) basicities in acetonitrile, which cannot be directly measured. Analysis of structure-basicity trends is presented.