Over the last few years, cannabis seems to be a growing social and medical topic

Question

Over the last few years, cannabis seems to be a growing social and medical topic. The active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in cannabis plant and associated extracts is the general class of chemical compounds called cannabinoids. The most notable cannabinoid is the phytocannabinoid tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the primary psychoactive compound in cannabis. The majority of cannabinoids produced from the cannabis plant are found in a carboxylic acid form. This includes THC, which is actually found as tetrahydrocannabinolic acid (THCA) in living cannabis plants. The process of going from THCA to THC is decarboxylation. Calculate the equilibrium constant at room temperature for the decarboxylation of THCA through a computational method or arithmetic method to determine enthalpies and entropies.

Explanation / Answer

Tetrahydrocanabinolic acid exists in two isomeric forms. One where the carboxylic group is in between the benzene rong and the carbon chain. Another where it is at the end of the carbon chain

Decarboxylation means removal of Carboxylic group by releasing CO2.

THCA converts to THC + CO2

For writing the equilibrium constant of this reaction

K = [THC]/[THCA] ( CO2 is not considered since it is in gas phase)

Enthalpy for decarboxylation should be negative since the reaction is exothermic. Also the entropy will be positive since CO2,a gas is produced as by product which naturally has more spontaneity.

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