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On the other hand, if a chemical is a weak acid its conjugate base will not necessarily be strong. Consider that ethanoate, the conjugate base of ethanoic acid, has a base splitting constant (Kb) of about 5.6 × 10 −10, making it a weak base. In order for a species to have a strong conjugate base it has to be a very weak acid, like water.
In water, measurable pK a values range from about −2 for a strong acid to about 12 for a very weak acid (or strong base). A buffer solution of a desired pH can be prepared as a mixture of a weak acid and its conjugate base. In practice, the mixture can be created by dissolving the acid in water, and adding the requisite amount of strong acid ...
Acid strength is the tendency of an acid, symbolised by the chemical formula, to dissociate into a proton, +, and an anion, .The dissociation or ionization of a strong acid in solution is effectively complete, except in its most concentrated solutions.
In chemistry, an acid–base reaction is a chemical reaction that occurs between an acid and a base.It can be used to determine pH via titration.Several theoretical frameworks provide alternative conceptions of the reaction mechanisms and their application in solving related problems; these are called the acid–base theories, for example, Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory.
When some strong acid is added to an equilibrium mixture of the weak acid and its conjugate base, hydrogen ions (H +) are added, and the equilibrium is shifted to the left, in accordance with Le Chatelier's principle. Because of this, the hydrogen ion concentration increases by less than the amount expected for the quantity of strong acid added.
Water is amphoteric: it has the ability to act as either an acid or a base in chemical reactions. [87] According to the Brønsted-Lowry definition, an acid is a proton (H +) donor and a base is a proton acceptor. [88] When reacting with a stronger acid, water acts as a base; when reacting with a stronger base, it acts as an acid. [88]
Other strong non-nucleophilic bases are sodium hydride and potassium hydride. These compounds are dense, salt-like materials that are insoluble and operate by surface reactions. Some reagents are of high basicity (pK a of conjugate acid around 17) but of modest but not
If, for example, water, instead of hydroxide, was used to deprotonate the carboxylic acid, the equilibrium would not favor the formation of the carboxylate salt. This is because the conjugate acid, hydronium, has a pK a of -1.74, which is lower than the carboxylic acid. In this case, equilibrium would favor the carboxylic acid.