Molecular complex formation between some azacrown ethers and 2,4,6-trinitrophenol

The formation of molecular complexes with 1 : 1 stoichiometry between 2,4,6-trinitrophenol and aza-12-crown-4, aza-15-crown-5 and aza-18-crown-6 in chloroform solution was investigated spectrophotometrically. The resulting complexes were isolated and characterized by microchemical analysis, IR and NMR spectroscopy. The equilibrium constants of the 1 : 1 adducts were evaluated from the non-linear least-squares fitting of the absorbance-mole ratio data. The overall stability of the 2,4,6-trinitrophenol complexes was found to vary in the order aza-15-crown-5 > aza-18-crown-6 approximate to aza-12-crown-4. The kinetics of complex formation between 2,4,6-trinitrophenol and the aza-substituted crown ethers used were investigated and in all cases the results showed the occurrence of an oscillating chemical reaction in solution.