Theory of titration curves : The locations of inflection points on acid-base and related titration curves

Abstract

Consideration of the effect of dilution on the locations of the inflection points of potentiometric titration curves for titrations of monobasic acids or bases and for precipitation titrations in which the ions of the precipitate have numerically equal valences shows that; (I) In a strong acid-strong base or isovalent precipitation titration, the inflection point always precedes the equivalence point. No physically meaningful inflection point exists, regardless of the concentration of the substance titrated, if the concentration of the reagent is smaller than a certain value or if, when the concentration of reagent exceeds this limit, the concentration of the substance titrated is smaller than another limiting value. (2) In a weak acid-strong base or weak base-strong acid titration, the inflection point at which the slope is greatest also precedes the equivalence point, and vanishes under certain conditions. Earlier calculations are shown to have given incorrect information regarding the location and existence of this inflection point. The location of the inflection point at which the slope is smallest— the “point of maximum buffer capacity”—is shown to depend on the concentrations of the reagents employed.