Debye, electrostatic theory

Incomplete Dissociation into Free Ions. As is well known, there are many substances which behave as a strong electrolyte when dissolved in one solvent, but as a weak electrolyte when dissolved in another solvent. In any solvent the Debye-IIiickel-Onsager theory predicts how the ions of a solute should behave in an applied electric field, if the solute is completely dissociated into free ions. When we wish to survey the electrical conductivity of those solutes which (in certain solvents) behave as weak electrolytes, we have to ask, in each case, the question posed in Sec. 20 in this solution is it true that, at any moment, every ion responds to the applied electric field in the way predicted by the Debye-Hiickel theory, or does a certain fraction of the solute fail to respond to the field in this way In cases where it is true that, at any moment, a certain fraction of the solute fails to contribute to the conductivity, we have to ask the further question is this failure due to the presence of short-range forces of attraction, or can it be due merely to the presence of strong electrostatic forces ... 

Forces Superimposed on the Coulomb Forces. The discussion has been based on the idea that, superimposed on the electrostatic forces between a pair of ions, there are rather short-range forces of other origin, which may be attractive or repulsive. Consider now what the situation will be if these forces cause the mutual potential energy to fall at short distances, below the value — e2/er that is assumed in the Debye-Hlickel theory. In Fig. 74 let the broken curve be a plot of — e2/er, while the full curve gives the actual potential energy between a certain pair of... 

As a result of these electrostatic effects aqueous solutions of electrolytes behave in a way that is non-ideal. This non-ideality has been accounted for successfully in dilute solutions by application of the Debye-Huckel theory, which introduces the concept of ionic activity. The Debye-Huckel Umiting law states that the mean ionic activity coefficient y+ can be related to the charges on the ions, and z, by the equation... 

Debye-Huckel theory assumes complete dissociation of electrolytes into solvated ions, and attributes ionic atmosphere formation to long-range physical forces of electrostatic attraction. The theory is adequate for describing the behaviour of strong 1 1 electrolytes in dilute aqueous solution but breaks down at higher concentrations. This is due to a chemical effect, namely that short-range electrostatic attraction occurs... 

This concept is due to Bjerrum, who in 1926 suggested that in simple electrolytes ions of the opposite charge could associate to form ion-pairs (Szwarc, 1965 Robinson Stokes, 1959). This concept of Bjerrum arose from problems with the Debye-Huckel theory, when the assumption that the electrostatic interaction was small compared with IcTwas not justified. 

When A > A the ions are free and the Debye-Huckel theory applies. When A < A the two ions tend to approach each other and form an ion-pair, and there is no contribution to the electrostatic energy from the interaction between an ion and its atmosphere. 

The hole correction of the electrostatic energy is a nonlocal mechanism just like the excluded volume effect in the GvdW theory of simple fluids. We shall now consider the charge density around a hard sphere ion in an electrolyte solution still represented in the symmetrical primitive model. In order to account for this fact in the simplest way we shall assume that the charge density p,(r) around an ion of type i maintains its simple exponential form as obtained in the usual Debye-Hiickel theory, i.e.,... 

The electrostatic methods just discussed suitable for nonelectrolytic solvent. However, both the GB and Poisson approaches may be extended to salt solutions, the former by introducing a Debye-Huckel parameter67 and the latter by generalizing the Poisson equation to the Poisson-Boltzmann equation.68 The Debye-Huckel modification of the GB model is valid to much higher salt concentrations than the original Debye-Huckel theory because the model includes the finite size of the solute molecules. 

When electrical attraction and repulsion operate over distances considerably larger than the hydrated sizes of the ions, we can compute species activities quite well from electrostatic theory, as demonstrated in the 1920s by the celebrated physical chemists Debye and Hiickel. At moderate concentrations, however, the ions pack together rather tightly. In a one molal solution, for example, just a few... 

The Debye-FIuckel theory for association of spherical ions in a medium of dielectric constant Dr posits that the electrostatic potential energy of interaction between oppositely charged ions is... 

The interactions between the ions originally in solution and any added LiCl are best treated within the context of the Debye-Elttckel theory, which derives from a knowledge of electrostatic considerations. 

Recently, the Pitzer equation has been applied to model weak electrolyte systems by Beutier and Renon ( ) and Edwards, et al. (10). Beutier and Renon used a simplified Pitzer equation for the ion-ion interaction contribution, applied Debye-McAulay s electrostatic theory (Harned and Owen, (14)) for the ion-molecule interaction contribution, and adoptee) Margules type terms for molecule-molecule interactions between the same molecular solutes. Edwards, et al. applied the Pitzer equation directly, without defining any new terms, for all interactions (ion-ion, ion-molecule, and molecule-molecule) while neglecting all ternary parameters. Bromley s (1) ideas on additivity of interaction parameters of individual ions and correlation between individual ion and partial molar entropy of ions at infinite dilution were adopted in both studies. In addition, they both neglected contributions from interactions among ions of the same sign. 

Molecule-ion interaction contribution G a is estimated from the work necessary to transfer ions from a solution which does not contain any neutral solute molecule to the real ionic solution. The expression for Gia based on the Debye-McAulay electrostatic theory is given in Appendix II. 

The theory proposed by Debye and Huckel dominated the study of aqueous electrolytes from around 1920 to near the end of the 1950 s. The Debye-Huckel theory was based on a model of electrolyte solutions in which the ions were treated as point charges (later as charged spheres), and the solvent was considered to be a homogeneous dielectric. Deviations from ideal behaviors were assumed to be due only to the long range electrostatic forces between ions. Refinements to include ion-ion pairing and ion... 

The approach that we will follow is known as the Debye-Hiickel theory. The activity laws discussed in the following are derived from a knowledge of electrostatic considerations, and apply to ions in solution that have an energy distribution that follows the well-known Maxwell-Boltzmann law. Strong electrostatic forces affect the behaviour and the mean positions of all ions in solution. 

Experimenters would do well to avoid any unnecessary changes in the ionic composition of reaction samples within a series of experiments. If possible, chose a standard set of reaction conditions, because one cannot readily correct data from one set of experimental conditions in any reliable manner that reveals the reactivity under a different set of conditions. Maintenance of ionic strength and solvent composition is desirable, and correction to constant ionic strength often effectively minimizes or ehminates electrostatic effects. Even so, remember that Debye-Hiickel theory only applies to reasonably dilute electrolyte solutions. Another important fact is that ion effects and solvent effects on the activity coefficients of polar transition states may be more significant than more modest effects on reactants. 

In 1923, Peter Debye and Erich Hiickel developed a classical electrostatic theory of ionic distributions in dilute electrolyte solutions [P. Debye and E. Hiickel. Phys. Z 24, 185 (1923)] that seems to account satisfactorily for the qualitative low-ra nonideality shown in Fig. 8.3. Although this theory involves some background in statistical mechanics and electrostatics that is not assumed elsewhere in this book, we briefly sketch the physical assumptions and mathematical techniques leading to the Debye-Hiickel equation (8.69) to illustrate such molecular-level description of thermodynamic relationships. 

It is apparent from this plot that the Debye-Hiickel theory is only correct in a narrow range of extreme dilution, showing (as might have been anticipated) that classical electrostatics is qualitatively inadequate to describe the realistic interactions in aqueous electrolyte solutions, except in the asymptotic limit of extremely large ion-ion separations. 

The diffuse layer is described by the Gouy—Chapman theory of 1913 [21, 22], which is based on the same equations as the Debye—Hiickel theory of 1923 for electrolytes, which describes the electrostatic potential around an ion in a given ionic atmosphere [23]. 

The contribution of electrostatic interactions to fast association was analyzed by applying the classical Debye-Hiickel theory of electrostatic interactions between ions to mutants of bamase and barstar whose ionic side chains had been altered by protein engineering (Chapter 14).16 The association fits a two-step model that is probably general (equation 4.84). 

The work terms wl (/ = r or p) are associated with the electrostatic work done when the reactants are brought together from infinity to a distance separated from rigid spheres. For ions of charges Zj and z2 in a medium with a dielectric constant D, w , i r or p, can be calculated on the basis of the Debye-Huckel theory (Equation 6.110). 

The increase of the -> ionic strength (I) will influence the electrostatic interactions (-> Bronsteds salt effect, -+ Bronsted-Bjerrum equation) which can be taken into account by using the Debye-Huckel theory ... 

Debye-Hiickel theory — The interactions between the ions inside an electrolyte solution result in a nonideal behavior as described with the concepts of mixed-phase thermodynamics. Assuming only electrostatic (i.e., coulombic) interactions - Debye and - Hiickel suggested a model describing these interactions resulting in - activity coefficients y suitable for further thermodynamic considerations. Their model is based on several simplifications ... 

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