Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
ACID - BASE
THEORIES
* Arrhenius Theory
* Brønsted-Lowry Theory
* Lewis Theory
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
1- Arrhenius Acid-Base Theory (1884)
* An acid is a substance that ionizes in water to
produce hydrogen ion (hydronium ion) .
+ -
HCl(g) + H2O(aq) → H3O (aq) + Cl (aq)
OR
HCl(aq) → H+(aq) + Cl- (aq)
*A base is a substance that ionizes in water to produce hydroxide ion.
NaOH(aq) → Na+(aq) + OH- (aq)
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
2- Brønsted-Lowry Acids and Bases Theory (1923)
An acid is a proton (H+) donor and a base is a proton (H+) acceptor .
Every acid has its conjugate base and every base has its conjugate
acid. They are called conjugate acid-base pairs.
NH3(aq) + H2O(aq) ⇌ NH4
+ -
(aq) + OH (aq)
base1 acid 2 acid 1 base 2
NH3 and NH4+ are conjugate acid-base pairs
H2O and OH- are conjugate acid-base pairs
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
** The stronger an acid, the weaker its conjugate
base, and the weaker an acid the stronger its
conjugate base.
** There are molecules which may act both as acids
and bases under different conditions. Such
molecules are named as amphiprotic. Water is a
common amphiprotic substance.
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
Exercise: Indicate the conjugate acid base pairs
- -
CH3OH (aq) + NH2 (aq) ⇌ CH3O (aq) + NH3 (aq)
2- - -
CO3 (aq) + H2O(aq) ⇌ HCO3 (aq) + OH (aq)
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
Amphiprotic substances
can act like an acid or base
+ -
H 3O H2O OH
always always
conjugate acid conjugate base
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
Ex: What is the conjugate base of HClO4,
H2S, PH4+, HCO3- ?
Ex: What is the conjugate acid of CN-, SO42-,
H2O, HCO3- ?
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
HA(aq) + H2O(l) <==> H3O+(aq) + A-(aq) Ka
A-(aq) + H2O(l) <==> HA(aq) + OH-(aq) Kb
---------------------------------------------------------------
2 H2O(l) <==> H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq) Kw
[Link]=Kw
Ka=Kw/Kb OR Kb=Kw/ Ka
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
3- Lewis Acid-Base Theory
An acid is an electron pair acceptor and a base is
an electron pair donor .
+ +
NH4 (aq) + H2O(aq) ⇌ NH3(aq) + H3O (aq)
acid base base acid
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
BF3 + NH3 ⇌ NH3-BF3
H
:
:F: I
:F-B + : N-H ⇌ F3B-NH3
: :
:F: H
Coordinate covalent
:
bond
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
MONOPROTIC/POLYPROTIC ACIDS &
MONOHYDROXY/POLYHYDROXY BASES
Acids that produce only one H+ per molecule are called
monoprotic such as HCl,HBr, HNO3 and those that
produce more than one H+ per molecule are called as
polyprotic such as H2SO4 (diprotic), H3PO4 (triprotic).
Bases that produce only one OH- per molecule are called
monohydroxy such as NaOH, KOH and those that produce
more than one OH- per molecule are called as polyhydroxy
such as Ba(OH)2 (dihydroxy), Al(OH)3 (trihydroxy) .
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021
Lecture notes-2 May 27, 2021