Acids Bases and Spectroscopy

LECTURE 1: DEFINITIONS OF ACIDS AND BASES

Jeston Thindwa | Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering | University of Malawi

 Introduction
Acids and bases are all around us. They
are in what we eat, drink and even breath.
Acids and bases are of great use in
industries, agriculture and even security.
To continue to put these compounds to
important use, it is imperative we study
their chemistry.

Examples of acids in daily life; acetic

acid(CH3COOH) found in vinegars,
carbonic acid(CO3) in fizzy drinks,
Tannic acid in teas, ascorbic
acid(C6H6O8) in citrus fruits

Common properties of acids

Though acids are defined differently in

context and vary widely in structure and
properties, the most common properties
of acids include;

- Sour taste,
- Turn blue litmus paper to red
- Are electrolytes
- Have pH values of less than 7
- Strong acids react with wide range of
materials (skin, paper, fabric)

Naming Acids
Since acids vary in structural makeup, there is no systematical way to which all acidic
compounds are named, however acids from the same group usually have the same prefix
and suffix ending. For example, group 7 acids, have the hyro- prefix followed by the name
of the hydrogen with the -ic suffix.

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In other compounds like carboxylic acids, the -ic suffix is used followed by the word acid.
In other acids, the -rous suffix is attached to the central compound followed by the word
acid.
Names of common acid and their anions.

Bases

From antacids medication to soaps and detergents, bases are some of the most common
compounds found around households.

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General properties of bases include;

- Bitter taste
- Change red litmus paper to blue
- Are electrolytes
- Feel slippery or soapy to touch

Naming Bases

Like acids, different bases follow different naming patterns. Bases with OH-(hydroxide
groups) are named with the name of the element bonded to the hydroxide group followed
by the word ‘hydroxide’.

Names of some common bases

Chemical Formula Name

NaOH Sodium Hydroxide
LiOH Lithium Hydroxide
NaHCO3 Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate
Al(OH)2 Aluminium Hyrodixe
CaCO3 Calcium Carbonate

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Exercise

A. Give the names of the following acids and bases

1. HClO4
2. H3PO4
3. Ba(OH)2
4. Sr(OH)2

B. Give 4 examples of bases that are not hydroxides

Theories of acids and bases

There are several theories of acids and bases, the most widely used theories describing the
chemistry of acids and bases are

A) Arrhenius Theory
B) Bronsted-Lowry Theory
C) Lewis Theory

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Arrhenius Theory
The Arrhenius theory (proposed by Svante Arrhenius) defines an acid as a substance that
has H atom and dissociates in water to form yield H3O+.

Arrhenius Acid + water → H3O+ + Arrhenius acid minus H atom

A Arrhenius base is a substance that has OH and dissociates in water to yield OH- ion.

Arrhenius base + water → OH − + Arrhenius base minus OH group

Limitations of Arrhenius theory

- Only applies to soluble compounds

- Not all bases have OH group e.g ( NH3, carbonates etc)

Bronsted-Lowry Theory
In the Bronsted-Lowry definition, a substance is

- an acid if it donates a proton (H+) in a reaction

- a base, if it receives a proton (H+) in a reaction
- amphiprotic if it can either donate or receive (H2O, HSO4-, HCO3-)

Example

a).

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 HCl + H2 O → H3O+ + Cl-

b).

c).

In the Bronsted-Lowry theory, a Bronsted acid must contain at least one ionizable proton
and a Bronsted base must contain at least one pair of electrons.

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Example

Identify each compound as either a Bronsted base, Bronsted acid or both

⎯⎯
→ CH3COOH
CH3COO−( aq ) + H3O+ ( aq ) ⎯
⎯ ( aq ) + H 2O(l )

Solution

⎯⎯
→ CH 3COOH
CH 3COO − ( aq ) + H 3O + ( aq ) ⎯
⎯ ( aq ) + H 2O( l )
Left hand side
CH 3COO − = Bronsted − base
H 3O + = Bronsted − acid

Right hand side

CH 3COOH = Bronsted − acid
H 2O = Bronsted − base

Notice that in the above example, a Bronsted base on the left hand side of the reaction
becomes a Bronsted acid on the right hand side. This interesting feature gives birth to
conjugate acid-base pairs.

Conjugate acid-base

A conjugate acid base pair or acid-base pair conjugate pair is a pair of compounds having
an acid with its conjugate base or a base with its conjugate acid.

Under Bronsted-Lowry theory;

-A conjugate acid-base pair is made up of a compound with its ionizable proton (the
acid) paired with the same compound without its ionizable proton(the conjugate base).

Example

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The conjugate acid of a base is the base plus the accepted proton and the conjugate base
of an acid is the acid minus the donated proton.

In the example above

-NH3 is the base, its conjugate acid, is NH4+

-H2O is the acid, its conjugate base, is OH-

Example

For the following reaction, identify the conjugate acid base pairs

( a ) H 2 PO4−(aq ) ⎯⎯
→ HPO42−( aq ) + HCO3−( aq )
+ CO32−( aq ) ⎯
⎯

Solution
In this reaction, consider each side as an acid base reaction.
Identify the Bronsted acid (the proton donor) and the Bronsted base (the proton acceptor)
in the forward reaction (right hand side)
Bronsted acid-1 Bronsted base-1
H2PO42- CO32-
In the reverse reaction (left hand side), identify the Bronsted acid and the Bronsted base
Bronsted acid-2 Bronsted base-2
HCO3- HPO4-
Then pair the acid-1 with the base-2 and the acid-2 with the base-1 to form the
corresponding conjugate acid-base pairs
Conjugate acid base pairs
-H2PO42-/HPO4-
-CO32-/HCO3-
Note: The conjugate base of an acid is the acid after it has donated its proton, while the
conjugate acid of a base is the base after it has accepted a proton.

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Lewis Theory
In Lewis theory, an acid is defined as a electron pair acceptor while a base, is an electron
pair donor. This definition encompasses reactions that do not involve proton transfer and
occur in non-aqueous states.
Example
Identify the Lewis acid and base in the reaction;
⎯⎯
→ CaSO3
CaO( s ) + SO2( g ) ⎯
⎯ (s)

Solution
Sulphur atom accepts lone pair of electrons from oxygen atom bonded to calcium i.e an
acid
While oxygen bonded to calcium acts as an electron pair donor i.e a base

These acids (electron pair acceptors) are called electrophiles in organic chemistry and the
bases (electron pair donors) as nucleophiles.
Requirements for a compound to behave as a Lewis acid or Lewis base
• A Lewis acid must have a vacant valency orbital (i.e incomplete octets)
e.g cations (Al3+, Cu2+)
• A Lewis base must have a lone pair of electrons
e.g Nitrogen atom in ammonia (NH3)
For example, the reaction between BF3 and NH3
Exercise

For the following reactions, identify the Lewis acid and Lewis base

( a ) H + + OH − ⎯
⎯⎯→ H 2O
⎯
( b ) Cl − + BCl3 ⎯
⎯⎯→ BCl4−
⎯
( c ) K + + 6 H 2O ⎯
⎯⎯
→ K ( H 2O )6+
⎯

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