AN INFRARED SPECTROSCOPIC STUDY OF COMPLEX-FORMATION BETWEEN ORTHO-CRESOL AND PROPIONITRILE

Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, together with Factor Analysis and Band Resolution techniques, has been used to study complex format ion in binary mixtures of o-cresol and propionitrile ist the concentra tion range 0.100 to 0.671 mole fraction of o-cresol. Factor Analysis i ndicated that there were only two linearly independent components in t he C = N stretching band envelope of propionitrile. The appearance of a pseudo-isosbestic point in the normalized spectra supported this con clusion. These results indicate that a 1:1 o-cresol-propionitrile comp lex is formed. The equilibrium constant K-c for the formation of this complex was determined at various mole functions of o-cresol. The pres ent results are compared with previous data on various nitrile/cresol and phenol binary systems.