English

Geometric-algebraic approach to acid-base equilibrium

Chemical Physics 2023-02-06 v1

Abstract

Closed-form expressions for the pH of ideal weak acid and weak acid buffer solutions (and their titration with a strong base) were obtained and analyzed with the aid of computer algebra systems. These expressions are used to evaluate, without the use of numerical approximations, the precision and accuracy of different approximations commonly employed to calculate the pH. The closed-form expression for the pH of a buffer solution is used to obtain an analytical expression for the pH stability when a strong base is added. Finally, it is shown that the pH expressions for all the systems under study can be obtained from an unique closed-form expression in terms of an effective weak acid constant and an effective acid concentration.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2302.01926,
  title  = {Geometric-algebraic approach to acid-base equilibrium},
  author = {Anthony Caicedo and Juan C. Morales and Carlos A. Arango},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2302.01926},
  year   = {2023}
}

Comments

28 pages, 7 figures

R2 v1 2026-06-28T08:31:38.154Z