Submitted By: Umair Shafique

Reg no: FA19-PHM-080

Subject: Pharmacuetical analysis
Date: 23-06-2022

Department of Pharmacy
COMSATS University Islamabad
Abbottabad Campus
IONIC PRODUCT OF WATER
The product of concentrated H+ and OH- ions in the water at a certain temperature is termed as
an ionic product of water. 

How does water dissociate?

You should be familiar with the actions of acids and bases in water. They both dissociate.
 Acids dissociate to form positive hydrogen ions, , alongside a negative ion.
 Bases dissociate to form negative hydroxide ions, , alongside a positive ion.
Water itself dissociates. However, it does something a little different - it behaves amphoterically

Explanation
Pure water is a weak electrolyte. It ionises itself to a minimal extent producing protons and
hydroxyl ions. The self-ionisation of water may be represented as:

H2O(l) + H2O(l) ↔ H 3O + OH
Acid base conjugate acid conjugate base
It shows that water has the dual nature of proton donor and proton acceptor.
Since water is ionised to a minimal extent, out of millions of water molecules, only a few are
dissociated into H+H+ and OH–OH– Ions. Thus, the concentration of unionised water
molecules, i.e.,[H2O][H2O] remains almost constant (being equal
to 1000/18=55.551000/18=55.55 moles per litre, because 11 litre of
water =1000cc=1000g=1000cc=1000g and molar mass of H2O=18gmol–1H2O=18gmol–1),
i.e., [H2O]=[H2O]= constant.

Then the equilibrium constant, K, is given by;

K=[H3O+][OH–]/[H2O]2

K[H2O]2=[H3O+][OH–]

Water is a pure liquid, and its concentration remains constant.

Therefore, K[H2O]2=K[H2O]2= constant, which can take as Kw
Kw=[H3O+][OH–]Kw=[H3O+][OH–] (or) simply, Kw=[H+][OH–]

Here, the constant Kw is known as an ionic product of water at a given temperature.

The new constant, a product of the concentration of water and equilibrium constant, is called
an ionic product of water (Kw)(Kw). It is also called the auto protolysis constant of water.
The ionic product of water (Kw)(Kw) at a given temperature is defined as the concentration of
proton [H+][H+] and hydroxyl ions (OH–)(OH–) in water or aqueous solutions.

Relation Between pH and pOH

pH is the negative logarithm of hydronium ion and pOH is the negative logarithm of
hydroxy ion concentration.

i.e pH = -log[H+] or -log[H3O+]

pOH = -log[OH-]

We know that [H3O+][OH-] = 10-14 at 250C

By taking log on both sides

log[H3O+][OH-] = log(10-14)

log[H3O+] + log[OH-] = -14

-log[H3O+] - log[OH-] = 14

pH + pOH = 14

How to Calculate pH and pOH?

 Get the H+ ion concentration.

 Find the negative logarithm of the value to know pH value.
 Subtract 14 from pH value to find the pOH value.

Example:

Find the pH and pOH of the solution in which the concentration of hydronium ion is 8 x
10-8 M.
Solution:

The hydronium ion concentration is 8 x 10-8 M

pH = -log[H3O+]

= -log[8 x 10-8]

= 7.09

pOH = 14 - pH

= 14 - 7.09

= 6.91

Therefore, pH = 7.09, pOH = 6.91

Sørensen's experiment

 There is little information out there about the precise setup of this experiment, and the
diagram is extrapolated from articles about Sørensen, where the experiment and its
implications are explained in a much more detailed and accurate manner. Sørensen's
original article does not have a depiction of his apparatus - only the densely German
description of it. Fortunately, Prof. William Jensen from the university of Cincinnati has
reproduced in one of his commentaries an advertisement from 1922 which depicts the
sort of apparatus Sørensen would have used. The pdf was available to me, and I was
delighted to discover that Arthur H Thomas Company's ad for their "Electrometric H-Ion
Outfit" was embedded into the pdf document as a high resolution image, revealing the
detailed structure of the apparatus.

Sørensen made use of two existing techniques, namely the

saturated calomel electrode hydrogen electrode.
 The calomel electrode (calomel being the other name for mercurous chloride, Hg2Cl2)
was used as a reference electrode, as its behaviour is predictable, and the activity of the
chloride ion is fixed (by the fact that the KCl is saturated).The other electrode is a normal
hydrogen electrode.