Specialized Scientific Programs (SSP)

Engineering Chemistry

Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam

mtaha@alexu.edu.eg
Chemical Eng. Dept.
Alexandria University
Lecture (6)

Acids and Bases

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 2

Lecture content

1. Introduction.
2. Brønsted–Lowry acids and bases.
3. Autoionization of water.
4. Relative strengths of acids and bases.
5. Strong acids and bases.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 3

1. Introduction

• Acids have a sour taste and cause certain dyes to change color
while Bases have a bitter taste and feel slippery.

• When acids and bases are mixed in certain proportions, their

characteristic properties disappear altogether.

• By 1830 it was evident that all acids contain hydrogen but not
all hydrogen-containing substances are acids.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 4

1. Introduction

• During the 1880s, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius (1859

– 1927), state the concept of acids and bases as follows:

 An acid is a substance that, when dissolved in water, increases

the concentration of 𝐻+ ions (i.e., Hydrogen Chloride gas, HCl).

Aqueous solution of hydrogen chloride

in water is called hydrochloric acid.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 5

1. Introduction

• During the 1880s, the Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius (1859

– 1927), state the concept of acids and bases as follows:

 A base is a substance that, when dissolved in water, increases

the concentration of 𝑂𝐻− ions (i.e., Sodium hydroxide, NaOH).
𝐻2 𝑂
𝑁𝑎𝑂𝐻 𝑁𝑎+ + 𝑂𝐻−

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 6

1. Introduction

• Although the Arrhenius concept of acids and bases has

limitations. It is restricted to aqueous solutions.

• In 1923 the Danish chemist Johannes Brønsted (1879–1947)

and the English chemist Thomas Lowry (1874–1936)
independently proposed a more general definition of acids and
bases.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 7

2. Brønsted–Lowry acids and bases

• This concept is based on the fact that acid–base reactions

involve the transfer of 𝐻 + ions from one substance to another.
• Brønsted and Lowry proposed definitions of acids and bases in
terms of their ability to transfer protons 𝐻 + as follows:
 An acid is a substance that donates a proton 𝐻+ to another
substance.
 A base is a substance that accepts a proton 𝐻+ .

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 8

 2. Brønsted–Lowry acids and bases

Brønsted–Lowry
acid

Brønsted–Lowry
base
The polar 𝐻2 𝑂 molecule promotes the
ionization of acids in water solution by
accepting a proton to form 𝐻3 𝑂− .

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 9

2. Brønsted–Lowry acids and bases

Because the emphasis in the Brønsted–Lowry concept is on

proton transfer, the concept also applies to reactions that do NOT
occur in aqueous solution.
To be a Brønsted–Lowry
acid, a substance must have
a hydrogen atom it can lose
as an 𝐻 + ion.

To be a Brønsted–Lowry
base, a substance must
have a nonbonding
pair of electrons it can use
to bind the 𝐻 + ion.
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 10
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 11
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 12
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 13
3. Autoionization of water

• One of the most important chemical properties of water is its

ability to act as either a Brønsted-Lowry acid or a Brønsted-
Lowry base.
• In fact, one water molecule can donate a proton to another
water molecule and this process is called autoionization of
water.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 14

3. Autoionization of water

The ion product of water

• The equilibrium constant for the autoionization of water is
expressed as:
𝑘𝑐 = 𝑘𝑤 = 𝐻3 𝑂+ 𝑂𝐻− = 𝐻 + 𝑂𝐻 − = 1.0 × 10−14
where the subscript “w” indicates to water.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 15

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 16
3. Autoionization of water

The pH scale
• The molar concentration of 𝐻 + 𝑎𝑞. in an aqueous solution is
usually very small.
• For convenience, it is usually expressed in terms of pH.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 17

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 18
3. Autoionization of water

Or

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 19

3. Autoionization of water

Measuring pH

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 20

4. Relative strengths of acids and bases

• Some acids are better proton donors than others, and some
bases are better proton acceptors than others.

• A strong acid completely transfers its protons to water, leaving

no undissociated molecules in solution and its conjugate base
has a negligible tendency to accept protons in aqueous solution.
The stronger an acid, the weaker its conjugate base, and the stronger a
base, the weaker its conjugate acid.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 21

4. Relative strengths of acids and bases

Strong acids and

bases are strong
electrolytes, existing
in aqueous solution
entirely as ions.

Strong acid Weak acid

𝐻𝐴 → 𝐻 + + 𝐴− 𝐻𝐴 ⇌ 𝐻 + + 𝐴−

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 22

5. Strong acids and bases

• The seven most common strong acids include six monoprotic

acids (HCl, HBr, HI, HNO3, HClO3, and HClO4), and one diprotic
acid (H2SO4).

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 23

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 24
5. Strong acids and bases

• The most common soluble strong bases are the ionic hydroxides
of the alkali metals, such as NaOH, KOH, and the ionic
hydroxides heavier alkaline earth metals, such as Sr(OH)2.

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 25

Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 26
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 27
Engineering Chemistry - Dr. Mahmoud Taha Moharam 28