The Electrostatic Influence of Substituents on the Dissociation Constants of Organic Acids. I

Bjerrum's theory of the influence of substituents on dissociation constants has been extended and amplified. The molecules and ions entering into the ionization equilibria are treated as cavities of low dielectric constant, rather than as structureless regions of the same dielectric constant as the solvent. The theory gives better results than the simple Bjerrum formulation, especially for the short chain dicarboxylic acids, and in the fact that it permits a satisfactory treatment of the influence of dipolar substituents on dissociation constants.