Briana Halbert

September 27, 2013

PREPARING BUFFERS AND BUFFER CAPACITY

Purpose: The purpose of this experiment is to prepare buffer solutions and to determine their buffer capacity. Introduction: buffer solution is one that is resistant to chan!e in pH "hen small amounts of stron! acid or base are added. #or example, "hen 0.01 mole of stron! acid or base are added to distilled "ater, the pH drops to 2 "ith the acid and rises to 12 "ith the base. $f the same amount of acid or base is added to an acetic acid % sodium acetate buffer, the pH may only chan!e a fraction of a unit. Buffers are important in many areas of chemistry. &hen the pH must be controlled durin! the course of a reaction, the solutions are often buffered. This is often the case in biochemistry "hen en'ymes or proteins are bein! studied. (ur blood is buffered to a pH of 7.). *ariations of a fe" tenths of a pH unit can cause illness or death. cidosis is the condition "hen pH drops too lo". hi!her than normal. T"o species are re,uired in a buffer solution. (ne is capable of reactin! "ith (H- and the other "ill react "ith H3(.. The t"o species must not react "ith each other. /any buffers are prepared by combinin! a "ea+ acid and its con0u!ate 1acetic acid and sodium acetate2 or a "ea+ base and its con0u!ate 1ammonia and ammonium chloride2. $n !eneral, the pH ran!e in "hich a buffer solution is effecti3e is .4- one pH unit on either side of the p5a. The Henderson%Hasselbalch pro3ides the information needed to prepare a buffer.
pH = pKa + lo!

l+alosis results "hen the pH is

[ conjugatebase] [ weakacid ]

There is a limit to the amount of acid or base that can be added to a buffer solution before one of the components is used up. This limit is called the buffer capacity and is defined as the moles of acid or base necessary to chan!e the pH of one liter of solution by one unit.

Briana Halbert

September 27, 2013 Buffer 6apacity 7 1number of moles of (H- or H3(. added2 1pH chan!e213olume of buffer in 82

$n this experiment, the Henderson-Hasselbalch e,uation "ill be used to determine the amount of acetic acid and sodium acetate re,uired to prepare a series of buffer solutions. (nce the buffer solutions ha3e been prepared, their buffer capacity "ill be determined.

Procedure9 . :reparation of a Buffer (ne buffer "ould be assi!ned to each. The ratio of the con0u!ate base to acid, usin! the Henderson-Hasselbalch e,uation "as calculated. The 3olumes of 0.1 / solutions of con0u!ate base and acid "ere determine in order to prepare the total 3olume of ;0-100 m8 of the buffer solution. - <esired pH is !reater than p5a
pH = pKa + lo!

[ conjugatebase] [ weakacid] [ weakacid]

- <esired pH is less than p5a

pH = pKa lo!

[ conjugatebase]

$n the experiment, the ration of the con0u!ate base and "ea+ acid "as expressed as "hole numbers. The number of millimoles 7 m8 x /, and the molarities of all rea!ents used to prepare the buffers belo" are 0.1 / the ratio of con0u!ate base to "ea+ acid that "as determined simplified in millimeters9
= conjugate base> = we akacid>

The prepared ;0-100 m8 of buffer solution, "as necessary to multiply both the numerator and denominator of the 3olume ratio by a number that "as the sum of the t"o 3olumes filled in the ;0-100 m8 ran!e. 1/a+e sure the instructor chec+ed the calculations before preparin! the buffer solution. The re,uired 3olumes 0.1 / rea!ents "ith the 100 m8

Briana Halbert

September 27, 2013

!raduated "as mixed in the 2?0-m8 bea+er. The pH of the buffer "as sho"n to the instructor for a final chec+ on the instructor@s pH meter before preceded to part B. ll data "as recorded. B. Buffer 6apacity of your Buffer 10.0 m8 of the buffer "as pipeted into ri!ht test tubes. #our test tubes pipeted 1,3,A and ; m8 of 0.1 / H6l. $nto 1,3,A and ; m8 of 0.1 / Ba(H. The four test tubes "ere mixed thorou!hly. The pH of the four test tubes "ere measured and contained H6l "ith a standardi'ed pH meter by pourin! one tube at a time "ith ?0 m8 bea+er. The successi3e readin!s "ere drained and the bea+er "as refilled C"ith-out rinsin!D, pro3idin! the four test tubes "ere tested in the increasin! order of H6l additions. Einse thorou!hly the ?0 m8 bea+er and the pH readin!s of the four test tubes contained the addin! of 0.1 / Ba(H in the same manner. The pH readin!s in the table "as recorded on the report sheet and the millimoles of the substances re,uested "as calculated. 6. Buffer 6apacity of <istilled &ater The instructor pro3ided the class "ith a bottle of pre3iously boiled and cooled distilled or deioni'ed "ater. 10.0 m8 of H2( "as pipeted into t"o separate test tubes. 1.0 m8 of 1.0 / H6l "as added to one tube and 10 m8 of 0.1 / Ba(H "as added to the other tube. The pH of the boiled and cooled distilled "ater "as mixed and recorded and compared to the pH chan!es "ith those "hen 10 m8 buffer "as treated "ith 1 m8 of 0.1 / H6l and the Ba(H.

Briana Halbert

September 27, 2013

Table o Rea!ents: Structure Hydrochloric acidF H6l Sodium hydroxideF Ba(H cetic acid 6H36((H 6H36((H2:() Tris A0.0?; !4mol ?;.0) !4mol ;A.;G72 !4mol 121.1) !4mol 3;.;;7 !4mol /olecular &ei!ht 3A.)0A) !4mol /eltin! :oint <ensity Ha'ard $rritant $n!estion H 2.13 !4cm3 $nhalation $rritant #lammable 1.0? !4cm3 1.0? !4cm $rritant $rritant 6orrosi3e $rritant or Boilin! :oint /.:. -11).; 6 1.1G !4cm3 B.:. -G?.0A 6 /.:. % A0).) # 131G 62 A0.G # 11A 62 A0.G # 11A 62 /.:. % 17? 617A 6 B.:. 21) 6 BH). BH3 1G.01; !4mol 17.031; !4mol /.:. -77.7? 6 B.:. -33.3) 6 0.7? +!4m3 0.7? +!4m3 $rritant 6orrosi3e