Chem 321 Lecture 11 - Chemical Activities

10/3/13

Student Learning Objectives

One of the assumptions that has been made in equilibrium calculations thus far
has been to equate K to a ratio of concentrations. Such a K (sometimes referred to as a
concentration equilibrium constant and given the symbol KN) is not constant. Look at
data for the KN values for three different reactions as the concentration of NaCl in the
each solution is changed (Fig. 8.1). As the electrolyte concentration increases, KN
increases and at very low electrolyte concentrations KN approaches a limiting value.
Why does KN change with changing salt concentration?

Figure 8.1 Effect of electrolyte concentration on

concentration-based equilibrium constants

Let’s focus on one of these reactions, the dissolution of BaSO4.

BaSO4(s) º Ba2+(aq) + SO42-(aq)

KNsp = [Ba2+][SO42-]
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The thermodynamic equilibrium constant (a true constant) for this or any other
reaction is based on a ratio of chemical activities, not concentrations. For this reaction

The value of Ksp is the same as the limiting value when the electrolyte concentration is
very low. This suggests that the activities depend on the salt concentration.

The activity of component A (aA) can be calculated from the concentration of

component A in solution ([A]) and its activity coefficient (γA) by

aA = [A] γA

Thus,

and

The reason KN changes with the salt concentration is that the activity coefficients
depend on the concentration of the salt. In 1923 Peter Debye and Erich Hückel
developed an expression that allows one to calculate activity coefficients. The extended
Debeye-Hückel equation indicates that γ depends on three factors.

where z is the charge on the ion;

α is the hydrated ion radius (in pm);

μ is the ionic strength of the solution.

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The ionic strength of a solution is a measure of electrolyte concentration and is

calculated by:

where c is the molarity of a particular ion and z is the charge on the ion. This is the
reason why KN depends on the electrolyte concentration.

A close look at the Debeye-Hückel equation shows that γ decreases as the ion
charge increases, the hydrated ionic radius decreases and as the ionic strength of the
solution increases. The effect of ionic strength on the activity coefficient strongly
depends on the charge of the ion (see Fig. 8.2).

Figure 8.2 Effect of ionic strength on activity coefficients

The difference between the activity of solute ion An (aA) and its formal
concentration ([An]) arises because of ionic interactions between mobile ions in a
solution. Individual ions in solution are surrounded by ions of opposite charge (they are
shielded). Consequently, the formal charge an ion projects to other ions is less than it
normally would be, so it interacts with oppositely-charged ions less attractively - its
effective concentration is lower. The activity coefficient is a measure of how effectively
an ion can interact in solution. In dilute solutions (μ < 0.1 M), γ varies from 0 to 1. As
the solution becomes more dilute (fewer ionic interactions), γ 6 1 and aA 6 [An]. For
neutral solutes γ = 1.
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Example 8.1

Problem

Calculate the ionic strength of a 0.060 M solution of KCl.

Solution

First, determine what ions are present in solution: K+, Cl-, H3O+, OH-

Only those ions present in the higher concentrations ([K+] = [Cl-] = 0.060 M vs.
[H3O+] ~ [OH-] ~ 10-7 M ) need to be considered when calculating the ionic strength

Notice that the ionic strength is the same as the molarity of the (KCl) electrolyte.
This is a general rule; whenever the electrolyte involves only ions with +1 and -1
charges the ionic strength is the same as the electrolyte concentration. This will not
be the case when the electrolyte ions have larger charges.

Check for Understanding 8.1 Solution

1. What is the ionic strength of a 0.020 M Na2SO4 solution?

Another assumption that has been made so far in the acid-base equilibrium
calculations is related to pH. The pH measurements in the laboratory are a measure of
the activity of the hydrogen ion (aH+), not its formal concentration. The proper
relationship is
pH = -log aH+

In some equliibrium calculations you will be able to determine aH+ directly, however,
often you will first obtain the equilibrium [H+]. Then you must multiply this by the
appropriate activity coefficient to get aH+ before calculating the pH. Also note that

Kw = aH+aOH- = [H+]γH+[OH-]γOH-
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Generally, the activity coefficient of an ion will not be calculated. Instead, it will
be gotten from a table of activity coefficients such as shown below, which lists γ as a
function of ion charge, ion size and ionic strength. Note that γ does not depend on the
specific nature of the electrolyte.

© 2011 W. H. Freeman and Company

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In order to take the ionic interactions into account when doing equilibrium
calculations, the following general method will be used.

• First, write the reaction quotient in terms of activities (not concentrations) and set
it equal to K.

• Substitute for each solute activity the product of activity coefficient times
concentration. For pure solids and liquids, the activity is unity and for gases at a
pressure of about 1 atm, the activity is approximated by the partial pressure.

• Determine the ionic strength of the solution and use this to get the needed
activity coefficients from the data table. For uncharged solutes these ionic
interactions are not very significant so γ ~ 1, independent of ionic strength.

• Set up the usual table of initial and equilibrium concentrations.

• Substitute the values for the concentration terms and activity coefficients into the
reaction quotient and solve for the unknown term.

• If pH is to be determined, get [H3O+] from the calculations described above, then

calculate aH+ using the appropriate value for γH+. pH = -log aH+ = -log ([H3O+]γH+).

This method will be illustrated by using activities for the equilibrium calculation done in
Example 8.2.
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Example 8.2

Problem

Using activities, calculate the pH of a 0.10 M aqueous solution of KH2PO4.

Solution

First determine what ions are in solution. The only important ions in terms of ionic
strength are those from the salt because their concentrations are much higher than
the those for H+ and OH-. Since the electrolyte involves only +1 and -1 ions (K+ and
H2PO4-), the ionic strength equals the electrolyte concentration (μ = 0.10 M). The
needed activity coefficients can be gotten directly from the data table of activity
coefficients for this ionic strength.

for μ = 0.10 M, γH3O+ = 0.83

γHPO42- = 0.355

γH2PO4- = 0.775

The concentration table associated with the weak acid dissociation reaction is the
same as before.
Ka2
H2PO4- + H2O º H3O+ + HPO42-
initial 0.10 M ~10-7 M 0
equil 0.10 - x 10-7 + x ~ x x

where x equals the increase in the [HPO42-]. The equilibrium concentration of H3O+
is also approximated by x. This assumes that x >> 10-7 M.

Next write the reaction quotient in terms of activities and set it equal to Ka.
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Example 8.2 (continued)

Solution

Now substitute the various values for the quantities in the reaction quotient and
solve for x.

Note that the approximation made in the denominator assumes that x << 0.10 M.

This gives x = 1.29 x 10-4 M and validates the two assumptions that were made.

Thus, [H3O+] = 1.29 x 10-4 M and aH3O+ = (1.29 x 10-4)(0.83) = 1.07 x 10-4. Hence, pH
= -log aH3O+ = 3.97.

Although the calculated pH appears to be only sightly lower than that determined
before (4.10), note that the calculated equilibrium [H3O+] is actually 60% higher than
that gotten by ignoring ionic interactions. This suggests that the weak acid is
ionized to a greater extent than previously expected. This makes sense in light of
these ionic interactions. In the presence of electrolyte, the H3O+ and HPO42-
products are shielded from one another and are not able to recombine as readily.

In Example 8.2 the ionic strength of the solution (μ = 0.10 M) corresponded to

one of the values listed in the table of activity coefficients. However, often this is not the
case. In such a situation one must do a linear interpolation to obtain the desired activity
coefficients.

Suppose, for example, you require the activity coefficient for a solution that has
an ionic strength of 0.007 M. In the table of activity coefficients you are given the value
of γH3O+ for μ = 0.005 M and μ = 0.010 M. The desired value must fall between these .
This situation is described in Figure 8.3.
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Figure 8.3 Linear interpolation to obtain activity coefficients

Another way of thinking about this is to use the following type of table.

μ γH3O+
0.005 0.933
0.007 x
0.010 0.914

Then set up a proportion in the form

and solve for x.

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Example 8.3

Problem

Using activities, calculate the pH of a solution made from mixing 100. mL of 0.030 M
KH2PO4 with 100. mL of 0.050 M K2HPO4.

Solution

For the calculation of ionic strength, the important ions are: K+, H2PO4- and HPO42-.

from KH2PO4: [K+] = 0.015 M

[H2PO4-] = 0.015 M Note that all concentrations
are halved because of
dilution.
from K2HPO4: [K+] = 0.050 M
[HPO42-] = 0.025 M

Since this ionic strength is not listed in the data table, the activity coefficients must
be obtained by linear interpolation of the table data.

for μ = 0.090 M
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Example 8.3 (continued)

Solution

The concentration table for this buffer is the same as in Example 7.2.
Ka2
H2PO4- + H2O º H3O+ + HPO42-
initial 0.015 M ~10-7 M 0.025 M
equil ~0.015 M x ~0.025 M

Note that x is defined as the equilibrium concentration of H3O+.

Now substitute the various values for the quantities in the reaction quotient and
solve for x.

Solving this gives x = 9.50 x 10-8 M = [H3O+]. This [H3O+] is more than 2.5 times
larger than that gotten by ignoring ionic interactions.

To get the buffer pH, aH3O+ = (9.50 x 10-8)(0.836) = 7.94 x 10-8. Hence, pH = -log aH3O+
= 7.10. This is a decidedly different pH than calculated before (7.42).

Check for Understanding 8.2 Solution

1. In Example 8.3 why can the [H3O+] and [OH-] be ignored when calculating the
buffer solution ionic strength?

Exercises for Chemical Activities