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In a buffer, a weak acid and its conjugate base (in the form of a salt), or a weak base and its conjugate acid, are used in order to limit the pH change during a titration process. Buffers have both organic and non-organic chemical applications. For example, besides buffers being used in lab processes, human blood acts as a buffer to maintain pH.
An acid–base reaction is, thus, the removal of a hydrogen ion from the acid and its addition to the base. [21] The removal of a hydrogen ion from an acid produces its conjugate base, which is the acid with a hydrogen ion removed. The reception of a proton by a base produces its conjugate acid, which is the base with a hydrogen ion added.
According to the original formulation of Lewis, when a neutral base forms a bond with a neutral acid, a condition of electric stress occurs. [7] The acid and the base share the electron pair that formerly belonged to the base. [7] As a result, a high dipole moment is created, which can only be decreased to zero by rearranging the molecules. [7]
The acid, HA, is a proton donor which can lose a proton to become its conjugate base, A −. The base, B, is a proton acceptor which can become its conjugate acid, HB +. Most acid–base reactions are fast, so the substances in the reaction are usually in dynamic equilibrium with each other. [8]
The conjugate base of a Brønsted–Lowry acid is also a Lewis base as loss of H + from the acid leaves those electrons which were used for the A—H bond as a lone pair on the conjugate base. However, a Lewis base can be very difficult to protonate , yet still react with a Lewis acid.
For aqueous solutions of an acid HA, the base is water; the conjugate base is A − and the conjugate acid is the hydronium ion. The Brønsted–Lowry definition applies to other solvents, such as dimethyl sulfoxide: the solvent S acts as a base, accepting a proton and forming the conjugate acid SH +.
A conjugate base is formed when the acid is deprotonated by the base. In the image above, hydroxide acts as a base to deprotonate the carboxylic acid. The conjugate base is the carboxylate salt. In this case, hydroxide is a strong enough base to deprotonate the carboxylic acid because the conjugate base is more stable than the base because the ...
For example, acetic acid is a weak acid which has a = 1.75 x 10 −5. Its conjugate base is the acetate ion with K b = 10 −14 /K a = 5.7 x 10 −10 (from the relationship K a × K b = 10 −14), which certainly does not correspond to a strong base. The conjugate of a weak acid is often a weak base and vice versa.