The reactions and kinetics of rhodium(II) acetate with carboxylic acids

The reaction of rhodium(II) acetate with excess carboxylic acids were followed by nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The reaction was found to be a stepwise exchange of deuteroacetate for the acetate cage. The rate constants measured have a ratio of approximately 1:0.75:0.5:0.25 for k[lowered 1]:k[lowered 2]:k[lowered 3]:k[lowered 4]. The ratio is due to a statistical effect depending on the number of "exchange" sites available on the reaction species.