A General Relation Between H0, Acid Concentration, and Water Activity for Strong Acids at Moderate Concentrations

Abstract

Values of the Hammett acidity function H0 can be correlated for strong acid solutions up to −H0 values of 3.5 via a Bascombe and Bell type equation:[Formula: see text] taking into account the degree of dissociation of the acids. This can be interpreted according to[Formula: see text]and[Formula: see text]Alternatively, an approach based on the treatment of equilibrium constants in terms of mole-fractions yields[Formula: see text]valid for the same acids (H2SO4, HClO4, HCl, and HNO3) and again involving a tri-dehydration of the tetra-hydrated proton. The log of the ratio [Formula: see text] has been found to be proportional to −H0 itself and to be otherwise independent of the nature of the acid anion.