Weak-Acid Equilibrium

Culinary Equilibrium Weak acids in lemon and vinegar react with weak bases in fish through appetizing neutralizations. In this chapter, we examine acid-base chemistry with evolving definitions and models. 

Hydrogen sulphide is slightly soluble in water, giving an approximately 0.1 M solution under 1 atmosphere pressure it can be removed from the solution by boiling. The solution is weakly acidic and dissolves in alkalis to give sulphides and hydrogensulphides. The equilibrium constants... 

The bond dissociation energy of the hydrogen-fluorine bond in HF is so great that the above equilibrium lies to the left and hydrogen fluoride is a weak acid in dilute aqueous solution. In more concentrated solution, however, a second equilibrium reaction becomes important with the fluoride ion forming the complex ion HFJ. The relevant equilibria are ... 

The addition of the sulphuric acid first neutralises the sodium hydroxide, and then gives a weakly acidic and therefore colourless solution. The sodium derivative (A) then undergoes further partial hydrolysis in order to re-establish the original equilibrium, and the sodium hydroxide thus formed again produces the pink coloration, which increases in depth as the hydrolysis proceeds. 

The ketone is added to a large excess of a strong base at low temperature, usually LDA in THF at -78 °C. The more acidic and less sterically hindered proton is removed in a kineti-cally controlled reaction. The equilibrium with a thermodynamically more stable enolate (generally the one which is more stabilized by substituents) is only reached very slowly (H.O. House, 1977), and the kinetic enolates may be trapped and isolated as silyl enol ethers (J.K. Rasmussen, 1977 H.O. House, 1969). If, on the other hand, a weak acid is added to the solution, e.g. an excess of the non-ionized ketone or a non-nucleophilic alcohol such as cert-butanol, then the tautomeric enolate is preferentially formed (stabilized mostly by hyperconjugation effects). The rate of approach to equilibrium is particularly slow with lithium as the counterion and much faster with potassium or sodium. 

The strength of a weak acid is measured by its acid dissociation constant, which IS the equilibrium constant for its ionization m aqueous solution... 

Although acetylene and terminal alkynes are far stronger acids than other hydro carbons we must remember that they are nevertheless very weak acids—much weaker than water and alcohols for example Hydroxide ion is too weak a base to convert acety lene to its anion m meaningful amounts The position of the equilibrium described by the following equation lies overwhelmingly to the left... 

The carbon-metal bonds of organolithium and organomagnesium compounds have appreciable carbamomc character Carbanions rank among the strongest bases that we 11 see m this text Their conjugate acids are hydrocarbons—very weak acids indeed The equilibrium constants for ionization of hydrocarbons are much smaller than the s for water and alcohols thus hydrocarbons have much larger pA s... 

The equilibrium constant for equation 6.13 is K. Since equation 6.13 is obtained by adding together reactions 6.11 and 6.12, may also be expressed as the product of Ka for CH3COOH and Kb for CH3COO-. Thus, for a weak acid, HA, and its conjugate weak base, A-,... 

Besides equilibrium constant equations, two other types of equations are used in the systematic approach to solving equilibrium problems. The first of these is a mass balance equation, which is simply a statement of the conservation of matter. In a solution of a monoprotic weak acid, for example, the combined concentrations of the conjugate weak acid, HA, and the conjugate weak base, A , must equal the weak acid s initial concentration, Cha- ... 

Equation 6.44 is written in terms of the concentrations of CH3COOH and CH3COO- at equilibrium. A more useful relationship relates the buffer s pH to the initial concentrations of weak acid and weak base. A general buffer equation can be derived by considering the following reactions for a weak acid, HA, and the salt of its conjugate weak base, NaA. 

Gordus, A. A. Ghemical Equilibrium IV. Weak Acids and Bases, /. Chem. Educ. 1991, 68, 397-399. 

Consider again the titration of a monoprotic weak acid, ITA, with a strong base. At any point during the titration the weak acid is in equilibrium with 1T30+ and A ... 

Equilibrium Constants Another application of acid-base titrimetry is the determination of equilibrium constants. Consider, for example, the titration of a weak acid, HA, with a strong base. The dissociation constant for the weak acid is... 

This method provides a reasonable estimate of the piQ, provided that the weak acid is neither too strong nor too weak. These limitations are easily appreciated by considering two limiting cases. For the first case let s assume that the acid is strong enough that it is more than 50% dissociated before the titration begins. As a result the concentration of HA before the equivalence point is always less than the concentration of A , and there is no point along the titration curve where [HA] = [A ]. At the other extreme, if the acid is too weak, the equilibrium constant for the titration reaction... 

Chemical Limitations to Beer s Law Chemical deviations from Beer s law can occur when the absorbing species is involved in an equilibrium reaction. Consider, as an example, an analysis for the weak acid, HA. To construct a Beer s law calibration curve, several standards containing known total concentrations of HA, Cmt, are prepared and the absorbance of each is measured at the same wavelength. Since HA is a weak acid, it exists in equilibrium with its conjugate weak base, A ... 

In the discussion of the relative acidity of carboxylic acids in Chapter 1, the thermodynamic acidity, expressed as the acid dissociation constant, was taken as the measure of acidity. It is straightforward to determine dissociation constants of such adds in aqueous solution by measurement of the titration curve with a pH-sensitive electrode (pH meter). Determination of the acidity of carbon acids is more difficult. Because most are very weak acids, very strong bases are required to cause deprotonation. Water and alcohols are far more acidic than most hydrocarbons and are unsuitable solvents for generation of hydrocarbon anions. Any strong base will deprotonate the solvent rather than the hydrocarbon. For synthetic purposes, aprotic solvents such as ether, tetrahydrofuran (THF), and dimethoxyethane (DME) are used, but for equilibrium measurements solvents that promote dissociation of ion pairs and ion clusters are preferred. Weakly acidic solvents such as DMSO and cyclohexylamine are used in the preparation of strongly basic carbanions. The high polarity and cation-solvating ability of DMSO facilitate dissociation... 

PK. — the negative logarithm of the equilibrium constant for acids or bases. This parameter is an indicator of the strength of an acid or base. Strong acids, such as H2SO4, and HCl, have low pK s (i.e., -1.0) while strong bases such as KOH and NaOH, have pK s close to 14.0. Weak acids and weak bases fall in the intermediate range. 

The strongest acid present in significant amounts at equilibrium after a strong acid is dissolved in water is H30". The strongest acid present in significant fflnounts when a weak acid is dissolved in water is the weak acid itself. 

An inflection point in a pH-rate profile suggests a change in the nature of the reaction caused by a change in the pH of the medium. The usual reason for this behavior is an acid-base equilibrium of a reactant. Here we consider the simplest such system, in which the substrate is a monobasic acid (or monoacidic base). It is pertinent to consider the mathematical nature of the acid-base equilibrium. Let HS represent a weak acid. (The charge type is irrelevant.) The acid dissociation constant, = [H ][S ]/[HS], is taken to be appropriate to the conditions (temperature, ionic strength, solvent) of the kinetic experiments. The fractions of solute in the conjugate acid and base forms are given by... 

Proton Transfers Involving a Solvent Molecule. In electrochemistry it is still often customary to treat the dissociation of a weak acid as a simple splitting of the molecule into ions. In the case of acetic acid, for example, the equilibrium is written... 

Different Types of Proton Transfers. Molecular Ions. The Electrostatic Energy. The ZwiUertons of Amino Acids. Aviopro-tolysis of the Solvent. The Dissociation Constant of a Weak Acid. Variation of the Equilibrium Constant with Temperature. Proton Transfers of Class I. Proton Transfers of Classes II, III, and IV. The Temperature at Which In Kx Passes through Its Maximum. Comparison between Theory and Experiment. A Chart of Occupied and Vacant Proton Levels. 

The equilibrium (43) has also been studied by a spectroscopic method, as already mentioned in Sec. 36. In ethanol solution picric acid is a weak acid in other words, the negative picrate ion has a tendency to pick up a proton. This tendency is diminished when, according to (43), the... 

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