Effect of ionophores on the rate of intramolecular cation exchange in durosemiquinone ion pairs

The effects of the ionophores 15-crown-5 (15C5), 18-crown-6 (18C6), dibenzo-18-crown-6 (DBC) and cryptand 222 (C222) on intramolecular cation exchange in ion pairs of the sodium salt of the durosemiquinone anion in benzene solution are investigated. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectra of the 18C6 and 15C5 complexes with durosemiquinone reduced by contact with a sodium mirror show an alternating line width which indicates that the sodium ion is being exchanged between equivalent sites near the oxygens of the semiquinone with activation energies of 8.7 and 6.0 kcal/mole and Arrhenius preexponential factors of 9 x 10 to the 12th/sec and 10 to the 12th/sec, respectively. Spectra obtained for the DBC complexes show no evidence of exchange, while those of C222 indicate rapid exchange. It is also noted that the hyperfine splitting constants measured do not change over the 50-K temperature interval studied.