Question

The cis-configuration of 2-butylene is higher in energy than the trans-configuration by 8.3E‑21J. You can synthesize trans-butylene with 100% yield. A customer wants to purchase your product but insists on 99.999% trans. What is the maximum temperature you can allow the product to be stored at to meet the customer’s specifications?

Answer 1

Answer:

We will use the Boltzmann Distribution law for the calculation;

p₂/p₁ = exp(-dE/KT). Here, we are assuming the degeneracies of two energy states are equal.

Here, dE = E₂ - E₁ = 8.3 x 10^-21 J

Considering the p₁ = 99.999 and p₂ = 0.001

p₂/p₁ = 1.0001 x 10^-5

and ln(p₂/p₁) = -dE/KT

T = -dE/K.ln(p₂/p₁) = -(8.3 x 10^-21)/(1.380 x 10^-23 x {-11.5128}) = 52.24 K

And maximum temperature should be 52.24 K

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