The complexation of the sodium cation by a
calix[4]arene tetraester,
5,11,17,23-tetra-p-tert-butyl-25,26,27,
28-tetrakis((ethoxycarbonyl)methoxy)calix[4]arene
(1) was studied by 1H and 23Na
NMR in a 50:50 v:v mixture
of deuteriated acetonitrile and deuteriated chloroform. A 1:1
complex was formed, in very slow exchange,
both on the 1H and on the 23Na NMR time
scales, with solvated calixarene and sodium cation,
respectively.
From 1H NMR 2D exchange spectroscopy experiments and
23Na NMR line width analysis, an upper limit
of
the rate constant for the dissociation of the 1:1 complex was estimated
to be 3 Hz. A 2:1 calixarene:sodium
complex in fast exchange with the 1:1 complex was evidenced by
23Na NMR. The characteristic
23Na NMR
line widths of the 1:1 and of the 2:1 complexes, determined at several
temperatures, were linearly related,
with a slope of 1.8 ± 0.2. This corresponds to a reorientational
correlation time, characteristic of the
23Na
quadrupolar relaxation, twice as large in the case of the 2:1 complex
than in the case of the 1:1 complex.
The standard enthalpy and the standard entropy of formation of the
2:1 complex could be estimated: ΔH° =
−16 ± 5 kJ mol-1 and ΔS°
= −28 ± 17 J K-1
mol-1. It is speculated that this
complex could be an
intermediate in the pathway of the exchange of sodium cations between
1:1 complexes in solution.