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Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Chemical Equilibrium Theory, Part 3 - The Henderson-Hasselbalch Equation

Greetings,

This post covers the meaning and derivation of the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation.  The equation is derived directly from the acid-ionization equation for a generic weak acid, HA.  It draws a direct relationship between the molarity of a weak acid and the molarity of its congugate base, A-.  The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation is utilized in the laboratory to predict buffer solution pH for a particular molar combination of a weak acid and its corresponding anion salt.  The equation is especially useful for determining best buffer recipe for a new process or analytical method.   The following slide show lays out the derivation.


A buffered equilibrium system is of the form:

HA(aq) <==> H+(aq) + A-(aq)
MA(aq) + H+(aq) <==> M+(aq) + HA(aq)  (Assuming the addition of extra acid)

Note that the second equilibrium effectively absorbs additional acid, thereby preventing a lowering of solution pH.

There will be more on buffered systems in my next post.

As always, thank you for reading!

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