Acids and

Bases
Chemistry of Materials
TMS1122

Mr. Chanaka Weerarathne

Department of
Engineering Technology
References
• Raymond Chang., Chemistry, (10th edition). McGraw-Hill Education.

• Chemistry – The Central Science, (14 th edition). Pearson.

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Outline
• What are acids and bases (General idea)?
• What are acids (a deeper look)
• Arhenious theory
• Brønstead Lowry’s theory
• Lewis acids and bases

• Acid Base properties of water

• pH
• Strength of acids and bases
• Strong acids
• Strong bases
• Weak Acids and Acid Ionization Constants
• Weak Bases and Base Ionization Constants
• Buffer Solutions
• Indicators
• Acid-base titrations
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Introduction

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 Introduction
Acids Bases
• Sour in taste –Lemons, Oranges, Vinegar etc. • Bitter in taste – Baking Soda, Milk of Magnesia etc.
• Blue litmus Red • Feel slippery when touched – Soap
• Red litmus Blue
• React with active metals such as Mg, Zn & Fe to
evolve Hydrogen gas (H2 ) • Aqueous solutions conduct electricity (Electrolytes)

Mg (s) + 2HCl (aq) MgCl2 (aq) + H2 (g)

• Aqueous solutions conduct electricity (Electrolytes)

• React with carbonates/bicarbonates such as
Na2CO3, CaCO3 , and NaHCO3, to form CO2

CaCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) CaCl2 (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g)
NaHCO3 (s) + 2HCl (aq) NaCl (aq) + H2O (l) + CO2 (g)
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Strong HClO4 Perchloric acid NaOH Sodium hydroxide Strong
acid H2SO4 Sulfuric acid KOH Potassium hydroxide base
HBr Hydrobromic acid Ba(OH)2 Barium hydroxide
HCl Hydrochloric acid Ca(OH)2 Calcium hydroxide
HNO3 Nitric acid
H3PO4 Phophoric acid
Weak HF Hydrofluoric acid NH3 Ammonia Weak
acid CH3COOH Acetic acid base

Acid + Base Neutralization

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Acids and Bases – A deeper look
Arrhenius’s definitions

Definitions of
Acids and Brønsted-Lowry
Bases

Lewis
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Arrhenius definition
• Proposed by Svante August Arrhenius (1859–1927), a Swedish
chemist.

• Acids dissociate in water to produce H+ ions

HCl (aq) H+ (aq) + Cl- (aq)

• Bases dissociate in water to produce OH- ions

NaOH (aq) Na + (aq) + OH- (aq)

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Limitations of Arrhenius definition
• Solvent effects are not considered.
• Applies only to compounds with the formula HA (acids) and BOH (bases)
• Applies only to aqueous solutions and not to non-aqueous solutions and gaseous
reactions.

In reality….
o H+ ions cannot exist free in solution. Hence it attaches itself readily to an H2O molecule:

Hydronium ion / H3O+

o Hydronium ions interact with additional water molecules via the formation of hydrogen
bonds
o H+(aq) and H3O+ (aq) can be used interchangeably.
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Brønsted-Lowry theory
• Proposed by the Danish chemist Johannes Brønsted and Thomas Martin Lowry, independently in 1923
• Their concept is based on the fact that acid-base reactions involve the transfer of ions from one substance
to another
• An acid is a substance (molecule or ion) that donates a proton to another
substance.
HCl (g) + H2O(l) Cl - (aq) + H3O+ (aq)

• A base is a substance that accepts a proton.

NH3 (aq) + H2O(l) ⇋ NH4 + (aq) + OH- (aq)
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• This concept can be applied to reactions that do not occur in an aqueous solution

Q1. Consider the following equilibrium, which substance acts as the Brønsted – Lowry
acid/base?
H2 S (aq) + CH3 NH2 (aq) ⇋ HS-(aq) + CH3 NH3 + (aq)

A substance can function as an acid only if another

substance simultaneously behaves as a base.

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Conjugate Acid-Base Pairs
Remove H +

HNO2 (aq) + H2 O (l) ⇋ NO-2 (aq) + H3 O + (aq)

Acid Conjugate Conjugate
Base
Base Acid

add H +

add H +

NH3 (aq) + H2 O (l) ⇋ NH4+ (aq) + OH - (aq)

Base Conjugate Conjugate
Acid
acid base

remove H +

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Conjugate Acid-Base Pairs-Contd.
• The conjugate base of a Brønsted acid is the species that remains when one proton has
been removed from the acid. A conjugate acid results from the addition of a proton to a
Brønsted base.

• Every Brønsted acid has a conjugate base, and every Brønsted base has a conjugate acid

Q2

Identify the conjugate acid-base pairs in the reaction between ammonia and hydrofluoric
acid in aqueous solution

NH3 (aq) + HF (aq) ⇋ NH4+ (aq) + F –(aq)

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Lewis Acids and Bases
• Lewis acid is a substance that can accept a pair of electrons
• Lewis base as a substance that can donate a pair of electrons
• Much broader definition compared to other two.
• Lewis acid-base reactions include many reactions that do not involve
Brønsted acids
EXAMPLES

Ag+ (aq) + 2NH3 (l) ⇋ Ag(NH3)2+ (aq)

acid base

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The Acid-Base properties of water
• Water is a very weak electrolyte and therefore a poor conductor of
electricity, but it does undergo ionization to a small extent
• Water has the ability to act as either a Brønsted–Lowry acid or a Brønsted–
Lowry base

H2O(l) + H2O(l) ⇋ OH - (aq) + H3O+ (aq)

• This process known as the autoionization of water.

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Ion product of water
• Writing equilibrium constant expressions
For a reversible reaction at equilibrium and a constant temperature, a
certain ratio of reactant and product concentrations has a constant value, K
(the equilibrium constant)

aA + bB ⇋ cC + dD

𝑐 𝑑
[𝐶] [𝐷]
𝐾=
[𝐴]𝑎 [𝐵]𝑏

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Ion product of water
• The equilibrium-constant expression for the autoionization of water is
+
𝐻3𝑂 [𝑂𝐻−] 2H2O (l) ⇋ H3O+ (aq) + OH- (aq)
• 𝐾c =
[𝐻2𝑂]

• Concentration of pure solids/liquids is a constant

𝐾𝑤 = [H3O+] [OH-] 𝐾𝑤 = [H+] [OH-]

Kw called the equilibrium constant, which we call the ion-product constant for water.

𝐾𝑤 = [H3O+] [OH-] = [H+] [OH-] = 1.0 × 10 -14 (at 25 o C )

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Q3.
The concentration of OH- ions in a certain household ammonia cleaning
solution is 0.0025 M. Calculate the concentration of H+ ions.

+ 𝐾𝑤 1.0 × 10−14 −12

𝐻 = − = = 4.0 × 10 𝑀
[𝑂𝐻 ] 0.0025

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• Determine the concentration of H+ and OH- ions in a neutral solution at 25 0C

[H+] [OH-] = (x) (x) = 1.0 x 10 -14 Acidic solutions : [H+] > 1.0 × 10 – 7 M
x 2 = 1.0 x 10 -14 Basic solutions : [H+] < 1.0 x 10 -7 M
x = 1.0 x 10 -7 M = [H+] = [OH-] Neutral solutions : [H+] = 1.0 × 10 – 7 M

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The pH Scale
• The molar concentration of H+ in an aqueous solution is usually very small

pH = - log [H3O +] pH = - log [H +]

EXAMPLE
pH of a neutral solution at 25 0 C

pH = - log (1.0 X 10 -7 ) = - (- 7.00) = 7.00

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 Acidic solutions : [H+] > 1.0 × 10 – 7 M, pH < 7.00
Basic solutions : [H+] < 1.0 x 10 -7 M. pH > 7.00
Neutral solutions : [H+] = 1.0 × 10 – 7 M, pH = 7.00

+
[H ] , pH
Calculating the H+ concentration when pH is given

[H+] = 10 -pH

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Q4
The pH of rainwater collected in Anuradhapura region on a particular day was 4.82.
Calculate the H+ ion concentration of the rainwater.

Solution
pH = - log [H+] = 4.82
Therefore,

log [H+] = -4.82

To calculate [H+], take the antilog of -4.82

[H+] = 10 -4.82 = 1.5 x 10-5 M

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Practice Problems
A solution at 25 0 C has [OH-] = 6.7 X 10 -3 . What is the pH of the solution?
(a) 0.83 (b) 2.2 (c) 2.17 (d) 11.83 (e) 12

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pOH scale
• A pOH scale analogous to the pH scale

• The negative logarithm is a convenient way of expressing the

magnitudes of other small quantities.

• Thus, we can express the concentration of OH- as pOH

pOH = - log [OH -] [OH-] = 10 -pOH

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• Now consider again the ion-product constant for water at 25°C:

[H+] [OH-] = Kw = 1.0 × 10-14

• Taking the negative logarithm of both sides, we obtain

- (log [H +] + log [OH -]) = - log (1.0 x 10-14)

- log [H +] - log [OH -] = 14.00

pH + pOH = 14.00 (at 25 0 C)

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Q5
In a NaOH solution [OH-] is 2.9 x 10-4 M. Calculate the pH of the solution.

pOH = - log [OH-]

= - log (2.9 x 10-4)
= 3.54

pH + pOH = 14.00
pH = 14.00 - pOH
= 14.00 – 3.54
= 10.46
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Measuring pH
• The pH of a solution can be measured with a pH meter

• In brief, a pH meter consists of a pair of electrodes connected to a meter

capable of measuring small voltages, on the order of millivolts.

• A voltage, which varies with pH, is generated when the electrodes are
placed in a solution.

• This voltage is read by the meter, which is calibrated to give pH.

Using a pH Meter - YouTube

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