Ionization in liquid ammonia of methyl and amino groups bonded to pyridine and pyrazine. Method of determining their pKa values

Abstract

Proton magnetic resonance spectra of ionized 2-methyl and 2-amino derivatives of pyridine and pyrazine along with spectra of 2-pyridone and 2-pyrazinone in liquid ammonia are reported. Changes in chemical shifts produced by ionization of the pyridines are linearly related to those for the pyrazines. Competition experiments show that 2-methyl- is less acidic than 4-methylpyridine; estimates of the pK, values for these two acids are given. It is suggested that the results provide a basis for determining the equilibrium acidities of weak heterocyclic acids.