COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
Acids and bases
For centuries people have known acids are in vinegar, lemon juice and many other foods taste sour. Only few
hundred years ago that it was discovered that acids taste sour and change litmus red, and they could be
identified as acids. In Latin term acere, which means "sour." While bases feel slippery, change litmus blue.
There are three different definitions of acids and bases, in this section we will introduce the fundamentals of
acid/base chemistry.
Acids taste sour, make metals corrode, change litmus (a dye from plants) red, and get neutralized
when bases are added. (H⁺)
Bases feel slippery, change litmus blue, and get neutralized when mixed with acids.
Names and formulas of common acids and bases (OH⁻)
Binary Acids Ternary Acids Hydroxy Bases
Hydrofluoric Acid - HF Nitric Acid - HNO3 Sodium Hydroxide - NaOH Potassium
Hydrochloric Acid - HCl Sulfuric Acid - H2SO4 Hydroxide - KOH Ammonium
Hydrobromic Acid - HBr Phosphoric Acid - H3PO4 Hydroxide - NH4OH
Hydroiodic Acid - HI Carbonic Acid - H2CO3 Calcium Hydroxide - Ca(OH)2
Organic Acids Hypochlorous Acid - HClO Magnesium Hydroxide - Mg(OH)2
Acetic Acid - HC2H3O2 Benzoic Chlorous Acid - HClO2 Barium Hydroxide - Ba(OH)2
Acid - C6H5CO2H Oxalic Acid – Chloric Acid - HClO3 Aluminum Hydroxide - Al(OH)3
H2C2O4 Perchloric Acid - HClO4 Zinc Hydroxide - Zn(OH)2
Lithium Hydroxide - LiOH
9.1 ARRHENIUS ACID-BASES THEORY
Swedish Svante Arrhenius 1884 proposed that acids and bases be defined in terms of the chemical
species they form when they dissolve in water.
Arrhenius Definition:
Arrhenius's theory explains why all acids have similar properties to each other (and, conversely, why all bases
are similar): because all acids release H+ (proton) or H₃O+ (hydronium ions) into solution (and all bases release
hydroxide ions, OH-).
Arrhenius Acid:
Is a hydrogen-containing compound that, in water, produces hydrogen ions (H ions). The
acidic species in Arrhenius theory is thus the hydrogen ion. Example:
HCl → H⁺ + Cl⁻
H₂SO₄ → 2H⁺ + SO₄²
Arrhenius Base:
Is a hydroxide-containing compound that, in water, produces hydroxide ions (OH ions). The
basic species in Arrhenius theory is thus the hydroxide ion. For this reason, Arrhenius bases are
also called hydroxide bases.
NaOH → Na + OH⁻
KOH → K⁺ + OH⁻
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COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
9.2 BRONSTED-LOWRY ACID-BASE THEORY
Johannes Nicolaus Brønsted (Denmark) and Thomas Martin Lowry (England) developed an alternative acids
and base bases definition to Arrhenius. They solved the problems associated with non-hydroxide bases,
especially ammonia which Arrhenius' definition could not include as a base limiting the acid base reactions to
few reactions.
According to Brønsted-Lowry: Acids and bases are substances that are capable of donating and accepting
protons (hydrogen ions, H+), respectively. An acid-base reaction consists of the transfer of a proton from an
acid to a base. Acid and bases are considered proton transfer agents.
A Brønsted–Lowry acid is a substance that can donate a proton (H ion) to some other substance.
A Brønsted–Lowry base is a substance that can accept a proton (H ion) from some other substance.
• An acid is a "proton donor."
• A base is a "proton acceptor."
This reaction proceeds to right to a large extent:
HCl - this is a Brønsted-Lowry acid, because it has a proton available to be transferred.
H₂O - this is a Brønsted-Lowry base, since it gets the proton that the Brønsted-Lowry acid lost.
CONJUGATE ACID-BASE PAIRS
Since this an equilibrium reaction the reverse reaction could also be considered as an acid/base reaction:
Acid and bases involved in the reverse reaction is call conjugate acid and conjugate base
Conjugate acid: H₃O+ - this is a Brønsted-Lowry conjugate acid, because it can give a proton.
Conjugate base: Cl¯ - this is a Brønsted-Lowry conjugate base, since it has the capacity to receive a proton.
A conjugate pair is an acid-base pair that differs by one proton in their formulas
(remember: proton, hydrogen ion, etc.). A conjugate pair is always one acid and one base.
Example:
The hydrogen chloride behaves as an acid by donating a proton to a water molecule. Because the water
molecule accepts the proton, to become H₃O⁺, it is the base.
Here is the one conjugate pair (acid/conjugate base) from the first example reaction: HCl and Cl¯
Identify the Bronsted-Lowery acid/conjugate base and base/conjugate acid pairs in the equilibrium
reactions given below.
a) HCl/Cl¯ is an acid/conjugate base pair H₂O/H₃ +O is a base/conjugate acid pair in this equilibrium.
b) H₂SO₄/HSO₄ ¯ is an acid/conjugate base pair and H₂O/H3 +O is a base/conjugate acid pair in this
equilibrium. HSO₄ ¯ /SO₄ ²¯ is an acid/conjugate base pair, if the second dissociation of HSO₄ ¯ (aq) took
place.
c) H₂O/OH¯ is an acid/conjugate base pair in this equilibrium.
H₂O/ H₃ +O is a base/conjugate acid pair and H₂O/ OH ¯ is an acid/conjugate base pair in this
equilibrium.
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COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
9.3 MONO-, DI-, AND TRIPROTIC ACIDS
Acidity of a compound is mainly created by certain types of hydrogen present in the acid molecule. Not all
hydrogen in an acid molecule break off to produce H+ ions: the acidic protons.
Most acids commonly seen are monoprotic, meaning they can only give up one proton or have only one acidic
proton. Examples of monoprotic acids include:
HCl (hydrochloric acid)
CH3COOH (acetic acid)
HNO3 (nitric acid)
Diprotic acids: Have two acidic protons. Examples of diprotic acids include:
sulfuric acid (H₂SO₄)
Carbonic acid (H₂CO3)
Hydrogen sulfide (H₂S),
Chromic acid (H₂CrO₄)
Oxalic acid (H₂C₂O₄).
Triprotic acids: Have three acidic protons such as phosphoric acid (H3PO₄) and citric acid (C₆H₈O₇).
Classify the following acids as monoprotic, diprotic, or triprotic.
a. HClO₄ (perchloric acid) - monoprotic
b. H₂C₂O₄ (oxalic acid) - diprotic
c. HC₂H₃O₂ (acetic acid) - monoprotic
d. H₂SO₄ (sulfuric acid) - diprotic
CHAPTER 9: ACID, BASE AND SALTS 3
COLLEGE OF PHARMACY
CHAPTER 9: ACID, BASE AND SALTS 4
