Calorimetrically measurable enthalpic isotope effect.
Calorimetric techniques have revealed that the enthalpy of reaction with water is more exothermic by about 2.2 kcal/mol, for the perdeuteriated naphthalene anion radical (K+C10D8*-(s) + H2O(liq) --> 1/2C10D8H2(s) + 1/2C10D8(s) + KOH(aq)) than it is for the perprotiated system. These results, when coupled with the known enthalpy of electron transfer between naphthalene and its perdeuteriated analogue imply that the heat of hydrogenation of naphthalene decreases by about 1.8 kcal/mol upon perdeuteriation of the naphthalene.