pH-metric method for determining the solubility and solubility products of slightly soluble hydroxides and acids

Abstract

In this paper, original methods for determining such thermodynamic characteristics as solubility K S0 product (KS) or the activity product ( )of slightly soluble hydroxides and acids are communicated. Developed methods for determining KS and solubility S are based only on the pH values of the saturated aqueous solution for a known initial composition of the heterogeneous mixture and the equilibrium constants of an arbitrary set of possible side reactions in the aqueous natural systems. The determination of solubility S and solubility product KS is also possible in the presence of other hydroxides or acids of known concentrations. Deduced equations allow the calculation of such characteristics, as the equilibrium concentrations of the components of slightly soluble compounds in aqueous phase and the degree of precipitation γ of the solid phase for various initial concentrations of the components of the heterogeneous mixture which are known in the process of preparing the mixture, requiring only experimental pH values of a saturated solution. From the known experimental pH data, S and KS were calculated for a series of hydroxides and acids of arbitrary composition. The obtained results correlated well with the known tabular values. Analysis of a number of real systems illustrated the deduced expressions, including calculations and theoretical explanations.