Low-Temperature Heat Capacities and Standard Molar Enthalpy of Formation of Potassium Benzoate C7H5O2K(s)

Potassium benzoate C7H5O2K (CAS Registry No. 582-25-2) was synthesized by the method of liquid phase reaction. Chemical and elemental analyses, FTIR, and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD) techniques were applied to characterize the composition and structure of the compound. Low-temperature heat capacities of the compound were measured by a precision automated adiabatic calorimeter over the temperature range from 78 K to 398 K. A polynomial equation of the heat capacities as a function of temperature was fitted by the least-squares method. Smoothed heat capacities and thermodynamic functions of the compound were calculated based on the fitted polynomial. In accordance with Hess's law, a reasonable thermochemical cycle was designed, and 100 mL of 1 mol center dot dm(-3) NaOH solution was chosen as the calorimetric solvent. The standard molar enthalpies of dissolution for the reactants and products of the supposed reaction in the selected solvent were measured by an isoperibol solution-reaction calorimeter. Finally, the standard molar enthalpy of formation of the title compound C7H5O2K (s) was derived to be -(610.94 +/- 0.77) kJ center dot mol(-1).