In a hydrocarbon solution, the gold compound (CH3)3AuPH3 decomposes into ethane (C2H6) and a different gold compound, (CH3)AuPH3. The following mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition of (CH3)3AuPH3:
Step 1: (CH3)3AuPH3 k1⇌k-1 (CH3)3Au + PH3 (fast)
Step 2: (CH3)3Au k2→ C2H6 + (CH3)Au (slow)
Step 3: (CH3)Au + PH3 k3→ (CH3)AuPH3 (fast)
(e) What is the rate law predicted by this mechanism?


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Key Concepts
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Elementary Steps
In a hydrocarbon solution, the gold compound (CH3)3AuPH3 decomposes into ethane (C2H6) and a different gold compound, (CH3)AuPH3. The following mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition of (CH3)3AuPH3:
Step 1: (CH3)3AuPH3 k1⇌k-1 (CH3)3Au + PH3 (fast)
Step 2: (CH3)3Au k2→ C2H6 + (CH3)Au (slow)
Step 3: (CH3)Au + PH3 k3→ (CH3)AuPH3 (fast)
(a) What is the overall reaction?
(b) What are the intermediates in the mechanism?
In a hydrocarbon solution, the gold compound (CH3)3AuPH3 decomposes into ethane (C2H6) and a different gold compound, (CH3)AuPH3. The following mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition of (CH3)3AuPH3:
Step 1: (CH3)3AuPH3 k1⇌k-1 (CH3)3Au + PH3 (fast)
Step 2: (CH3)3Au k2→ C2H6 + (CH3)Au (slow)
Step 3: (CH3)Au + PH3 k3→ (CH3)AuPH3 (fast)
(c) What is the molecularity of each of the elementary steps?
In a hydrocarbon solution, the gold compound (CH3)3AuPH3 decomposes into ethane (C2H6) and a different gold compound, (CH3)AuPH3. The following mechanism has been proposed for the decomposition of (CH3)3AuPH3:
Step 1: (CH3)3AuPH3 k1⇌k-1 (CH3)3Au + PH3 (fast)
Step 2: (CH3)3Au k2→ C2H6 + (CH3)Au (slow)
Step 3: (CH3)Au + PH3 k3→ (CH3)AuPH3 (fast)
(f) What would be the effect on the reaction rate of adding PH3 to the solution of (CH3)3AuPH3?
Platinum nanoparticles of diameter 2 nm are important catalysts in carbon monoxide oxidation to carbon dioxide. Platinum crystallizes in a face-centered cubic arrangement with an edge length of 3.924 Å. (b) Estimate how many platinum atoms are on the surface of a 2.0-nm Pt sphere, using the surface area of a sphere (4πr2) and assuming that the 'footprint' of one Pt atom can be estimated from its atomic diameter of 2.8 A .
Platinum nanoparticles of diameter 2 nm are important catalysts in carbon monoxide oxidation to carbon dioxide. Platinum crystallizes in a face-centered cubic arrangement with an edge length of 3.924 Å. (c) Using your results from (a) and (b), calculate the percentage of Pt atoms that are on the surface of a 2.0-nm nanoparticle. (d) Repeat these calculations for a 5.0-nm platinum nanoparticle.