Chemical reactions at the interfaces between two immiscible liquids have become a more interesting subject in various fields, including solvent extraction chemistry, biological chemistry and electrochemistry. 1,2 Although the interfacial complexation has been studied in some solvent extraction systems, catalytic reactions at the interface have not been reported enough compared with those in the aqueous phase. We have previously clarified the various reaction mechanisms proceeding at the liquid-liquid interface in solvent extraction systems by a highspeed stirring method 3-7 that can simultaneously measure the extraction rate of a metal complex and the interfacial concentration of a ligand or the complex from the change of the absorbance in the organic phase. However, this method has one drawback: it cannot directly measure the interfacial species. When the complex was not extracted into the organic phase and exists only at the interface, the complexation rate was indirectly determined from the consumption rate of the ligand in the organic phase in the high-speed stirring method. 6 Recently, in our laboratory we developed a new in situ spectrophotometric method, the centrifugal liquid membrane (CLM) method, to measure the species adsorbed at the liquid-liquid interface. 8,9 This method utilizes an ultra-thin two-phase liquid membrane in a rotating optical cell by a centrifugal force and can directly measure the interfacial species by transmission spectrophotometry or other spectrometries. But the previous rotating cell did not permit us to inject the sample solution rapidly while the cell was rotating. Therefore, there were some problems: fast reactions were difficult to measure and it was impossible to change the solution conditions in the course of the measurement. To solve these problems, in the present study we made a modified rotating cell that had a hole in the bottom.2-(5-Bromo-2-pyridylazo)-5-diethylaminophenol, 5-Br-PADAP or HL, has been known as a highly sensitive colorimetric reagent that forms colored complexes with various metal ions and has been used to detect trace amounts of various metal elements. [10][11][12] It was reported that 5-Br-PADAP formed a complex with Pd(II) with the mole ratio of 1:1.
13In the present study, we directly measured the formation kinetics of Pd(II)-5-Br-PADAP complex, which was not extracted into the heptane phase and existed only at the interface, from the spectral change in the heptane/water system. We clarified the kinetic mechanism of the catalytic effect of acid on the complexation reaction. Also, the advantage of the modified centrifugal liquid membrane cell in the kinetic study was demonstrated.
ExperimentalReagents 5-Br-PADAP (Dojindo Lab.) was used as purchased and was dissolved in purified heptane. For the purification, heptane (G. R., Katayama Chemical) was stirred with concentrated sulfuric acid for one day (repeated three times), washed successively with distilled water and 5% sodium hydroxide aqueous solution, dehydrated by calcium chloride dehydrate overni...