Action of Buffered Solutions

Which of these conjugate acid-base pairs will not function as a buffer C2H5COOH and C2H5COO, HCO3 and or HNO3 and NO3- Explain. 

To understand how a buffer works, let s consider one composed of a weak acid HX and one of its salts MX, where M could be Na, K, or any other cation that does not react with water. The acid-dissociation equilibrium in this buffered solution involves both the acid and its conjugate base  

We see from this expression that [H ] and, thus, the pH are determined by two factors the Value of K for the weak-acid component of the buffer and the ratio of the concentrations of the conjugate acid—base pair, [HX]/[X ]. 

If OH ions are added to the buffered solution, they react with the buffer acid component to produce water and X  

Presence of HF counteracts addition of base pH increase is small 

---

An excellent flash animation with audio to explain the action of buffering solutions is found at... 

Section 19.1 discusses the Brpnsted theory of acids and bases, which extends the concepts of add and base beyond aqueous solutions and also explains the acidic or basic nature of solutions of most salts. Dissociation constants, the equilibrium constants for the reactions of weak acids or bases with water, are introduced in Section 19.2. The concept of the ionization of covalent compounds is extended to water itself in Section 19.3, which also covers pH, a scale of acidity and basicity. Section 19.4 describes buffer solutions, which resist change in their acidity or basicity even when some strong acid or base is added. Both the preparation and the action of buffer solutions are explained. Section 19.5 discusses the equilibria of acids containing more than one ionizable hydrogen atom per molecule. 

Before leaving the subject of buffer solutions, it is necessary to draw attention to a possible erroneous deduction from equation (21), namely that the hydrogen-ion concentration of a buffer solution is dependent only upon the ratio of the concentrations of acid and salt and upon Ka, and not upon the actual concentrations otherwise expressed, that the pH of such a buffer mixture should not change upon dilution with water. This is approximately although not strictly true. In deducing equation (18), concentrations have been substituted for activities, a step which is not entirely justifiable except in dilute solutions. The exact expression controlling buffer action is ... 

Biochemists and molecular biologists use phosphate buffers to match physiological conditions. A buffer solution that contains H2 PO4 as the weak acid and HP04 as the weak base has a pH value very close to 7.0. A biochemist prepares 0.250 L of a buffer solution that contains 0.225 M HP04 and 0.330 M H2 PO4. What is the pH of this buffer solution Is the buffering action of this solution destroyed by addition of 0.40 g NaOH ... 

Use the seven-step strategy to calculate the pH of the buffer solution using the buffer equation. Then compare the amount of acid in the solution with the amount of added base. Buffer action is destroyed if the amount of added base is sufficient to react with all the acid.The buffering action of this solution is created by the weak acid H2 PO4 and its conjugate base HP04. The equilibrium constant for this... 

The buffer action of a solution of a weak acid (HA) and its salt (A ), i.e., its conjugate base, is explained by the fact that the added hydrogen ions are neutralized by the anions of the salt acting as a base, thus... 

A reference book states that a saturated aqueous solution of potassium hydrogen tartrate is a buffer with a pH of 3.56. Write two chemical equations that show the buffer action of this solution. (Tartaric acid is a diprotic acid with the formula H2C4H40g. Potassium hydrogen tartrate is KHC4H4O5.)... 

Buffers are defined as substances that resist changes in the pH of a system. All weak acids or bases, in the presence of their salts, form buffer systems. The action of buffers and their role in maintaining the pH of a solution can best be explained with the aid of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation, which may be derived as follows. 

The Common Ion Effect and Buffer Solutions 19-2 Buffering Action 19-3 Preparation of Buffer Solutions 19-4 Acid-Base Indicators... 

We have seen that the conjugate base provided by salt dissociation is actually involved in the buffering action. The metal ions (like Na in sodium acetate) are not involved. We should therefore rewrite the definition of buffer solutions. Buffers are mixtures of weak acids and their coryugate bases. 

The characteristics of soluble sihcates relevant to various uses include the pH behavior of solutions, the rate of water loss from films, and dried film strength. The pH values of sihcate solutions are a function of composition and concentration. These solutions are alkaline, being composed of a salt of a strong base and a weak acid. The solutions exhibit up to twice the buffering action of other alkaline chemicals, eg, phosphate. An approximately linear empirical relationship exists between the modulus of sodium sihcate and the maximum solution pH for ratios of 2.0 to 4.0. 

It is a consequence of the action of different pH values in the aeration cell that these cells do not arise in well-buffered media [4] and in fast-flowing waters [5-7]. The enforced uniform corrosion leads to the formation of homogeneous surface films in solutions containing Oj [7-9]. This process is encouraged by film-forming inhibitors (HCOj, phosphate, silicate, Ca and AP ) and disrupted by peptizing anions (CP, SO ") [10]. In pure salt water, no protective films are formed. In this case the corrosion rate is determined by oxygen diffusion [6,7,10]... 

An amount of enzyme preparation equivalent to 900 mg of wet cells was made up to 25 ml with the above potassium phosphate buffer solution. 150 mg (1.15 mmol) of 5-fluorouracil and 1.0 gram of thymidine (4.12 mmol) were dissolved in 15 ml of the above potassium phosphate buffer solution. The mixture was incubated at 37°C for 18 hours. After this time, enzyme action was stopped by the addition of four volumes of acetone and one volume of peroxide-free diethyl ether. The precipitated solids were removed by filtration, and the filtrate was evaporated under nitrogen at reduced pressure until substantially all volatile organic solvent had been removed. About 20 ml of aqueous solution, essentially free of organic solvent, remained. This solution was diluted to 100 ml with distilled water. 

Because the ionic product of water = [H ] [OH ] = 1.04 x 10" at 25°C, it follows that pH = 14 - pOH. Thus, a neutral solution (e.g., pure water at 25°C) in which [H j = [OH ] has a pH = pOH = 7. Acids show a lower pH and bases a higher pH than this neutral value of 7. The hydrogen ion concentrations can cover a wide range, from -1 g-ion/liter or more in acidic solutions to -lO" " g-ion/liter or less in alkaline solutions [53, p. 545]. Buffer action refers to the property of a solution in resisting change of pH upon addition of an acid or a base. Buffer solutions usually consist of a mixture of a weak acid and its salt (conjugate base) or of a weak base and its salt (conjugate acid). 

These reactions have very large equilibrium constants, as we will see in Section 14.3, and so go virtually to completion. As a result, the added H+ or OH- ions are consumed and do not directly affect the pH. This is the principle of buffer action, which explains why a buffered solution is much more resistant to a change in pH than one that is unbuffered (Figure 14.1, p. 384). 

In some of the details which follow, reference is made to the addition of a buffer solution, and in all such cases, to ensure that the requisite buffering action is in fact achieved, it is necessary to make certain that the original solution has first been made almost neutral by the cautious addition of sodium hydroxide or ammonium hydroxide, or of dilute acid, before adding the buffer solution. When an acid solution containing a metallic ion is neutralised by the addition of alkali care must be taken to ensure that the metal hydroxide is not precipitated. 

Buffer action 46 Buffer capacity 48 Buffer mixture universal, (T) 831 Buffer solutions 46, (T) 831 acetic acid-sodium acetate, 49 for EDTA titrations, 329 preparation of IUPAC standards, 569 Bumping of solutions 101 Buoyancy of air in weighing 77 Burette 84, 257 piston, 87 reader, 85 weight, 86... 

We can use these numbers to express the range of buffer action in terms of the pH of the solution. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation shows us that,... 

Solutions which resist changes in their pH values on the addition of small amounts of acids or bases are called buffer solutions or simply buffers. The resistance to a change in the H+ ion concentration on the addition of an acid or an alkali is known as buffer action. Just as the buffer of railway carriages resists shocks, similarly buffer solutions resist the action of various substances which can affect the pH value. There are two types of buffers (i) acidic buffer and (ii) basic buffer. 

---