Investigation of the kinetics of aquation of the 1:2 complex between Cr^III and nitrilotriacetic acid

Aquation of the 1:2 complex between Cr^III and nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) was monitored using a combination of capillary electrophoresis (CE), ultraviolet-visible (UV-vis) spectrophotometry, and attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy. To our knowledge, this is the first published report of the use of either CE or ATR-FTIR to monitor the kinetics of ligand exchange reactions of Cr^III-aminocarboxylate complexes. The aquation products were identified as the 1:1 Cr^III complex with NTA and "free" NTA. The 1:1 complex dimerized to form a 2:2 complex in a slower subsequent reaction step. Rates of disappearance of the 1:2 complex were first-order under all experimental conditions. First-order rate constants for aquation, k_obs (h^-1), measured using all three techniques were similar at equivalent pH conditions, and with values reported previously in the literature. Measured k_obs values exhibited a complicated pH dependence with three distinct regions: (i) at pH < 6.5, k_obs values increased with decreasing pH, (ii) between pH 6.5 and 8.0, k_obs values were relatively constant, and (iii) at 8.0 < pH < 10.0, k_obs increased with increasing pH and then leveled off. A kinetic model incorporating five distinct aquation pathways was successfully employed to model the pH dependence of k_obs from 0.0 < pH < 10.0. These results show that CE and ATR-FTIR can be used as tools for better understanding ligand exchange processes occurring in aqueous solution.