Mar., 1955
SPECTRAAND HYDROLYSIS OF SOAPFILMS
27 1
SPECTROSCOPIC STUDIES OF THE SOAPS OF PHENYLSTEARIC ACID. I. INFRARED ABSORPTION SPECTRA AND THE HYDROLYSIS OF SOAP FILMS BY R. E. KAUARISE Naval Research Laboratory, Washington 26,D. C . Received October 8, 1064
The infrared absorption spectra of phenylstearic acid and Li, Na, K, and Ca phenylstearate have been studied in the region from 2 to 15 p. Most of the observed frequencies have been interpreted in terms of being characteristic of either the aliphatic, aromatic or carboxyl portion of the molecule. In addition to the data for the soaps listed above, numerical values are presented for the frequency wp (asymmetric stretching mode of ionized carboxyl groups) in Be, Mg, Sr and Ba phenylstearates. It is observed that for both the bivalent and monovalent metals a linear relationship exists between the frequency w2 and the electronegativity of the metal constituent of the molecule. From studies of the aging proceps in solid films of the soaps, it is concluded that the absorption of HzO and the production of phenylstearic acid impurity increases in the order Li < Na < Ca < K. When C.02is excluded from the atmospheres to which films of Ca and Na soaps are exposed, the formation of phenylstearic acid is.reduced to a level below the sensitivity of the spectroscopic technique (
