Determination of the neutralization enthalpy

The purpose of the experiment

The determination of the heat of neutralization in 3 distinct cases:
Strong acid+ strong base
Weak acid (base) + strong base (acid)
Dibasic acid+ strong base
Theoretical aspects
An acid is a substance that has the tendency to lose a proton, transforming in its
conjugated base.
A base is a substance that has the tendency to accept a proton, transforming in its
conjugated acid.
Depending on their strengths the acid and bases are classified in: strong acids (HCl,
H2SO4, HNO3), weak acids (HNO2, HCOOH, CH3COOH), strong bases (NaOH, KOH),
weak bases (NH3, amines).
There reaction between an acid and a base is called neutralization reaction and it has the
following scheme:
Acid1+Base2Acid2+Base1
A. strong monobasic acid + strong base( HCl + NaOH )
The strong acids and bases are completely dissociated in ions. The neutralization reaction
is:
H+ + Cl- +Na+ +HO- Na+ + Cl- + H20 + HN
H+ + HO-H2O +HN
The thermal effect of the neutralization reaction corresponds to the formation enthalpy of
a mole of water from its ions.
B. dibasic strong acid + strong base ( H2SO4+NaOH)
The neutralization reaction is:
2H+ + SO42- +2 Na++ 2HO- 2Na+ + SO42- + 2H2O + HN2
2H+ + 2HO-2H2O + HN2
The neutralization heat is produced by the formation of 2 moles of water.
B. weak acid+ strong base( CH3COOH+NaOH )
C. weak acid+ strong base(CH3COOH + NaOH )
Weak acids and weak acids respectively exist only partially dissociated in solution. The
value of the heating of neutralization will depend on the dissociation constant of the weak
acid or base. The dissociation equilibrium of a weak acid is:
AH A- + H- + (1-)HA
Kd

H A

HA

2
c
1

, =degree of dissociation

Laboratory set-up
The necessary equipment is: Dewar vessel, electrical stirrer, thermometer, transformer,
ampermeter, voltmeter, 500 ml cylinder, 100 ml Berzelius flask, 2 pipettes.

Working procedure
The experiment has 2 distinct parts:
- the determination of the calorimetric constant
- the determination of the neutralization enthalpy for the previous cases
1. The determination of the calorimetric constant is give by the total heat capacity of the
calorimeter and its accessories.
This constant can be determined either by a chemical process with known thermal effects,
either by passing a known amount of electrical energy and measuring the temperature
variation.
The procedure is as follows:
- we introduce in the calorimeter a known amount of distilled water
- we start the stirring
- after aprox. 5 min the T1 temperature is measured, which is the initial temperature
of the water
- the heating circuit is turned on for 3 min and the voltage and intensity of the
current are measured
- we read the final temperature T2
Q = W T;
W = Q/ T = 0.239E*I*t/ T
Where:
E voltage
I current intensity
t time measured in seconds
W is expressed in cal/grad and represents the amount of heat necessary to raise the
calorimeter temperature by 1 degree.
2. Determination of the neutralization enthalpy
The following reactives are: NaOH 1M, HCl 0.05M
The steps are as follows:
- we introduce 500ml HCl 0.05M solution into the calorimeter
- we stir for 5 minutes and read the temperature T1
- we introduce 25ml NaOH 1M
- when the temperature becomes constant T2 is determined
- we calculate the neutralization enthalpy using the formula:
Q= MHCl/ mHCl (T2-T1) * W
HN1 = - Q
b. NaOH 1M and H2SO4 0.05M
The steps are the same as above only that we use 250ml H 2SO4 0.05M and 25ml NaOH
1M.
c. same as above using 500ml CH3COOH 0.05M and 25ml NaOH 1 M