Impact of Ligand Protonation on Higher-Order Metal Complexation Kinetics in Aqueous Systems

Contribution of partially labile complexes to the DGT metal flux

Penetration of complexes into the resin layer can dramatically increase the contribution of complexes to the metal flux measured with a DGT (diffusive gradients in thin films) sensor, but equations to describe this phenomenon were not available. Here, simple approximate analytical expressions for the metal flux, the lability degree and the concentration profiles in a DGT experiment are reported. Together with the thickness of the reaction layer in the gel domain, the effective penetration distance into the resin layer that would be necessary for full dissociation of the complex (λ(ML)) plays a key role in determining the metal flux. An increase in the resin-layer thickness (r) effectively increases the metal flux and the lability degree until r ≈ 3λ(ML). For the usual DGT configuration, where the thickness of the gel layer exceeds that of the resin layer, the complex is labile if r > (D(ML)/k(d))½, where D(ML) is the diffusion coefficient of the metal complex and k(d) its dissociation rate constant. A general procedure for estimating the lability of any complex in a standard DGT configuration is provided.

Protonation effects on dynamic flux properties of aqueous metal complexes

The degree of (de)protonation of aqueous metal species has significant consequences for the kinetics of complex formation/dissociation. All protonated forms of both the ligand and the hydrated central metal ion contribute to the rate of complex formation to an extent weighted by the pertaining outer-sphere stabilities. Likewise, the lifetime of the uncomplexed metal is determined by all the various protonated ligand species. Therefore, the interfacial reaction layer thickness, μ, and the ensuing kinetic flux, Jkin, are more involved than in the conventional case. All inner-sphere complexes contribute to the overall rate of dissociation, as weighted by their respective rate constants for dissociation, kd. The presence of inner-sphere deprotonated H2O, or of outer-sphere protonated ligand, generally has a great impact on kd of the inner-sphere complex. Consequently, the overall flux can be dominated by a species that is a minor component of the bulk speciation. The concepts are shown to provide a good description of experimental stripping chronopotentiometric data for several protonated metal–ligand systems.

Outer-sphere and inner-sphere ligand protonation in metal complexation kinetics: the lability of EDTA complexes

A generic framework, based on the Eigen mechanism, is formulated to describe the formation/dissociation kinetics of inner-sphere metal complexes that may undergo protonation. In principle, all protonated forms of the ligand contribute to the formation of the precursor outer-sphere complexes, but only the sufficiently stable ones effectively contribute to the overall rate of inner-sphere complex formation. The concepts are illustrated by experimental data for Cd(II)-EDTA complexes. Up to pH 8 the dissociation flux in this system is dominated by the protonated inner-sphere complex, even though it is a very minor component of the equilibrium speciation in bulk solution. The results highlight the importance of distinguishing between the thermodynamically predominant species versus the kinetically relevant ones in considerations of dynamic speciation analysis and bioavailability in natural and engineered systems.