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When a modest amount of strong acid or strong base is added to Buffer Solutions, the pH changes very little. As a result, they’re used to maintain a steady pH.
A buffer solution is one that can maintain its hydrogen ion concentration (pH) with just slight dilution or addition of a small amount of acid or base.
Fermentation, food preservation, medicine administration, electroplating, printing, enzyme activity, and blood oxygen carrying capacity all require precise hydrogen ion concentrations in buffer solutions (pH).
Buffer solutions are made up of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid that can maintain pH.
Buffer Solution Types
Acidic and alkaline buffers are the two basic types of buffer solutions that can be genetically categorised.
Buffers that are acidic
These solutions are used to keep acidic surroundings acidic, as the name implies. Acid buffer is made by combining a weak acid and its salt with a strong base to create an acidic pH. The pH of an aqueous solution containing an equal amount of acetic acid and sodium acetate is 4.74.
These solutions have a pH of less than seven.
These solutions are made up of a weak acid and its salt.
A mixture of sodium acetate and acetic acid (pH = 4.75) is an acidic buffer solution.
Alkaline buffer
Alkaline Buffers are a type of buffer that helps to keep the pH of
These buffer solutions are employed to keep things simple.
A weak base and its salt are mixed with a strong acid to make a basic buffer, which has a basic pH. The pH of an aqueous solution containing equal amounts of ammonium hydroxide and ammonium chloride is 9.25.
These solutions have a pH of greater than seven.
They contain a weak base and a weak base salt.
A mixture of ammonium hydroxide and ammonium chloride (pH = 9.25) is an example of an alkaline buffer solution.
Buffer Solution Preparation
A buffer solution can be made by adjusting the salt-acid or salt-base ratio if the dissociation constants of the acid (pKa) and the base (pKb) are known.
These solutions are made by mixing weak bases with their respective conjugate acids, or weak acids with their corresponding conjugate bases, as previously mentioned.
The production of a phosphate buffer by mixing HPO42- and H2PO4- is an example of this way of creating buffer solutions. This solution maintains a pH of 7.4.
pH Stabilisation
Consider the case of a buffer solution containing sodium acetate and acetic acid to better understand how buffer solutions maintain a steady pH.
It’s worth noting that the sodium acetate is virtually totally ionised in this example, but the acetic acid is just faintly ionised.
When strong acids are supplied, the H+ ions interact with the CH3COO- ions to form a weakly ionised acetic acid, causing the pH of the surroundings to shift insignificantly.
When very alkaline substances are added to this buffer solution, hydroxide ions react with the free acids in the solution to produce water molecules.
As a result, the hydroxide ions combine with the acid to create water, keeping the pH constant.
Buffer Solutions’ Applications
Buffer solutions are referred to by a variety of names, including pH buffers and hydrogen ion buffers.
The use of a bicarbonate and carbonic acid buffer system to manage the pH of animal blood is an example of buffer use in pH regulation.
Many species employ buffer solutions to maintain an optimal pH for enzyme activity.
In the absence of certain buffers, enzyme function may be slowed, characteristics may be lost, or the enzymes may even denature.
The enzymes’ catalytic function can be irreversibly deactivated by this denaturation process.
Conclusion
When a modest amount of strong acid or strong base is added to Buffer Solutions, the pH changes very little. As a result, they’re used to maintain a steady pH.
A buffer solution is one that can maintain its hydrogen ion concentration (pH) with just slight dilution or addition of a small amount of acid or base.
Fermentation, food preservation, medicine administration, electroplating, printing, enzyme activity, and blood oxygen carrying capacity all require precise hydrogen ion concentrations in buffer solutions (pH).
Buffer solutions are made up of a weak acid and its conjugate base or a weak base and its conjugate acid that can maintain pH.
