The enol content of simple carbonyl compounds: a thermochemical approach

Abstract
From the heats of hydrolysis of enol ethers, the heats of formation of the enol ethers, and thence the free energies of formation of the enol ethers in aqueous solution can be calculated. For this calculation it was necessary to determine the free energies of transfer from the gas phase to aqueous solution. By methods previously published it was possible to estimate the free energy change for the hypothetical hydrolysis reaction leading from the enol ether to the enol, which in turn made possible calculation of the free energy of formation of the enol. Finally the free energy change for enolization in aqueous solution could be calculated using the known free energy of formation of the corresponding keto tautomer. In this way the following were determined: carbonyl compound, pKenol = −log ([enol]/[keto]): acetaldehyde, 5.3; propionaldehyde, 3.9; isobutyraldehyde, 2.8; acetone, 7.2; 2-butanone, 8.3; 3-pentanone, 7.8; cyclopentanone, 7.2; cyclohexanone, 5.7; acetophenone, 6.7.