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In chemistry, biochemistry, and pharmacology, a dissociation constant (K D) is a specific type of equilibrium constant that measures the propensity of a larger object to separate (dissociate) reversibly into smaller components, as when a complex falls apart into its component molecules, or when a salt splits up into its component ions.
Because aggressive bases like KOH damage the cuticle of the hair shaft, potassium hydroxide is used to chemically assist the removal of hair from animal hides. The hides are soaked for several hours in a solution of KOH and water to prepare them for the unhairing stage of the tanning process. This same effect is also used to weaken human hair ...
The self-ionization of water (also autoionization of water, autoprotolysis of water, autodissociation of water, or simply dissociation of water) is an ionization reaction in pure water or in an aqueous solution, in which a water molecule, H 2 O, deprotonates (loses the nucleus of one of its hydrogen atoms) to become a hydroxide ion, OH −.
The dissociation of salts by solvation in a solution, such as water, means the separation of the anions and cations. The salt can be recovered by evaporation of the solvent. An electrolyte refers to a substance that contains free ions and can be used as an electrically conductive medium.
Acid dissociation constants are also essential in aquatic chemistry and chemical oceanography, where the acidity of water plays a fundamental role. In living organisms, acid–base homeostasis and enzyme kinetics are dependent on the p K a values of the many acids and bases present in the cell and in the body.
Potassium is the major cation (K +, a positive ion) inside animal cells, while sodium (Na +) is the major cation outside animal cells.The difference between the concentrations of these charged particles causes a difference in electric potential between the inside and outside of cells, known as the membrane potential.
During the experiment, ligand is titrated into the sample cell in precisely known aliquots, causing heat to be either taken up or evolved (depending on the nature of the reaction). [8] Measurements consist of the time-dependent input of power required to maintain equal temperatures between the sample and reference cells.
In water, by altering the autoionization equilibrium, bases yield solutions in which the hydrogen ion activity is lower than it is in pure water, i.e., the water has a pH higher than 7.0 at standard conditions. A soluble base is called an alkali if it contains and releases OH − ions quantitatively.