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For example, acetic acid is a weak acid which has a = 1.75 x 10 −5. Its conjugate base is the acetate ion with K b = 10 −14 /K a = 5.7 x 10 −10 (from the relationship K a × K b = 10 −14), which certainly does not correspond to a strong base. The conjugate of a weak acid is often a weak base and vice versa.
In general, organic acids are weak acids and do not dissociate completely in water, whereas the strong mineral acids do. Lower molecular mass organic acids such as formic and lactic acids are miscible in water, but higher molecular mass organic acids, such as benzoic acid, are insoluble in molecular (neutral) form.
The most common Lewis bases are anions. The strength of Lewis basicity correlates with the pK a of the parent acid: acids with high pK a 's give good Lewis bases. As usual, a weaker acid has a stronger conjugate base. Examples of Lewis bases based on the general definition of electron pair donor include: simple anions, such as H − and F −
For example, nitrogen, sulfur and chlorine are strongly electronegative elements, and therefore nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and perchloric acid, are strong acids. If, however, the electronegativity of X is low, then the compound is dissociated to ions according to the latter chemical equation, and XOH is an alkaline hydroxide .
However, for weak acids, a quadratic equation must be solved, and for weak bases, a cubic equation is required. In general, a set of non-linear simultaneous equations must be solved. Water itself is a weak acid and a weak base, so its dissociation must be taken into account at high pH and low solute concentration (see amphoterism).
Nitric acid, with a pK value of around −1.7, behaves as a strong acid in aqueous solutions with a pH greater than 1. [23] At lower pH values it behaves as a weak acid. pK a values for strong acids have been estimated by theoretical means. [24] For example, the pK a value of aqueous HCl has been estimated as −9.3.
Mineral acids range from superacids (such as perchloric acid) to very weak ones (such as boric acid). Mineral acids tend to be very soluble in water and insoluble in organic solvents. Mineral acids are used in many sectors of the chemical industry as feedstocks for the synthesis of other chemicals, both organic and inorganic.
HSAB is an acronym for "hard and soft (Lewis) acids and bases".HSAB is widely used in chemistry for explaining the stability of compounds, reaction mechanisms and pathways. It assigns the terms 'hard' or 'soft', and 'acid' or 'base' to chemical species.