The pKa Values of Water in Water: A Long-Standing, Tiresome, yet Soon Forgotten Issue?

Chemical Education

Authors

  • Antonio Togni Department of Chemistry and Applied Biosciences, ETH Zürich, HCI G 139, Vladimir-Prelog-Weg 1, CH-8093 Zürich, Switzerland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.2533/chimia.2024.167

Keywords:

Acid-base equilibria, Acitvity, General chemistry, pKa of H+aq, pKa of water, Thermodynamics

Abstract

The pKa values of water and the hydrogen ion (proton) in water are 14 and 0, respectively. Yet, many textbooks of general, organic, and, to a lesser extent, inorganic chemistry provide the incorrect values 15.74 and -1.74, respectively. This column briefly introduces the long-standing issue of these two different pairs of values, the consequences it bears when teaching general chemistry, and expresses the hope that it may be solved soon.

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Published

2024-03-27