A buffer solution is a solution where the pH does not change significantly on dilution or if an

[1]
acid or base is added at constant temperature. Its pH changes very little when a small amount
of strong acid or base is added to it. Buffer solutions are used as a means of keeping pH at a
nearly constant value in a wide variety of chemical applications. In nature, there are many living
systems that use buffering for pH regulation. For example, the bicarbonate buffering system is
used to regulate the pH of blood, and bicarbonate also acts as a buffer in the ocean.

Principles of buffering[edit]

Figure 1. Simulated titration of an acidified solution of a weak acid (pKa = 4.7) with alkali

Buffer solutions resist pH change because of a chemical equilibrium between the weak acid HA
−
and its conjugate base A :
+ −
HA ⇌ H + A
When some strong acid is added to an equilibrium mixture of the weak acid and its conjugate
+
base, hydrogen ions (H ) are added, and the equilibrium is shifted to the left, in accordance with
Le Chatelier's principle. Because of this, the hydrogen ion concentration increases by less than
the amount expected for the quantity of strong acid added. Similarly, if strong alkali is added to
the mixture, the hydrogen ion concentration decreases by less than the amount expected for the
quantity of alkali added. In Figure 1, the effect is illustrated by the simulated titration of a weak
acid with pKa = 4.7. The relative concentration of undissociated acid is shown in blue, and of its
conjugate base in red. The pH changes relatively slowly in the buffer region, pH = pKa ± 1,
−
centered at pH = 4.7, where [HA] = [A ]. The hydrogen ion concentration decreases by less than
the amount expected because most of the added hydroxide ion is consumed in the reaction
− −
OH + HA → H2O + A
and only a little is consumed in the neutralization reaction (which is the reaction that results in an
increase in pH)
− +
OH + H → H2O.
Once the acid is more than 95% deprotonated, the pH rises rapidly because most of the added
alkali is consumed in the neutralization reaction.

Buffer capacity[edit]
Buffer capacity is a quantitative measure of the resistance to change of pH of a solution
containing a buffering agent with respect to a change of acid or alkali concentration. It can be
[2][3]
defined as follows:

�=����(pH),

where
���
is an infinitesimal amount of added base, or
�=−����(pH),

where
���
+
is an infinitesimal amount of added acid. pH is defined as −log10[H ], and d(pH) is an
infinitesimal change in pH.

With either definition the buffer capacity for a weak acid HA with dissociation constant Ka can be
[4][5][3]
expressed as

�=2.303([H+]+�HA��[H+](��+[H+])2+�w[H+]),

+
where [H ] is the concentration of hydrogen ions, and
�HA
is the total concentration of added acid. Kw is the equilibrium constant for self-ionization of
−14 + +
water, equal to 1.0×10 . Note that in solution H exists as the hydronium ion H3O , and further
aquation of the hydronium ion has negligible effect on the dissociation equilibrium, except at very
high acid concentration.