Wednesday, October 17, 2018

solubility - Calculating the pH of a saturated calcium fluoride solution


How can I calculate the pH of a saturated solution of calcium fluoride (CaFX2)? I am given the following values:



Ksp(CaFX2)=3.91011Ka(HF)=6.8104Kw=1014


(The Ksp and Ka values are taken from the appendices of Skoog et al. Fundamentals of Analytical Chemistry, 9th edition.)



Answer



Here is my approach. The dissociation of CaFX2 is described by CaFX2CaX2++2FX


Now, if s is the molar solubility of CaFX2 (in moldm3), then Ksp=[CaX2+][FX]2=s(2s)2=4s3=3.9×1011s=2.1×104


The fluoride concentration is then equal to [FX]=4.2×104 M. The pH is then governed by the equilibrium


FX+HX2OHF+OHX


and since


Kw=[HX3OX+][OHX];Ka=[FX][HX3OX+][HF]


we find that the equilibrium constant for reaction (2) is



K=[HF][OHX][FX]=KwKa


and hence:


[OHX][HF]=KwKa[FX]


If we assume now that [OHX]=[HF] (from the stoichiometry of reaction (2)), and that the decrease in [FX] due to reaction (2) is negligible, then


[OHX]=KwKa[FX]=(1×10146.8×104)(4.2×104)=7.9×108


Adding the 1×107 M of OHX from the autodissociation of water,


[OHX]=1.8×107pOH=log(1.8107)=6.7pH=7.3


No comments:

Post a Comment

periodic trends - Comparing radii in lithium, beryllium, magnesium, aluminium and sodium ions

Apparently the of last four, MgX2+ is closest in radius to LiX+. Is this true, and if so, why would a whole larger shell ($\ce{...