Ion transfer across the water | trifluorotoluene interface

This work introduces trifluorotoluene as an alternative organic solvent for studying charge transfer across liquid vertical bar liquid interfaces. In comparison with the most popular organic solvents in this field, 1,2-dichloroethane and nitrobenzene, trifluorotoluene is less toxic since it is not considered a carcinogen agent, and offers a larger potential window. When comparing the standard Gibbs energies of ion partition from water to trifluorotoluene with those reported at the water vertical bar 1,2-dichloroethane and water vertical bar nitrobenzene interfaces, linear relationships were found, making easy to extrapolate the Gibbs energy of other ions from these empiric correlations. 1,2-dichloroethane and nitrobenzene can be efficiently replaced by trifluorotoluene for studying charge transfer at liquid vertical bar liquid interfaces. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.