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Weak base

From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.

Acids and Bases:
Acid-base reaction theories
pH
Self-ionization of water
Buffer solutions
Systematic naming
Redox reactions
Electrochemistry
Strong acids
Weak acids
Strong bases
Weak bases

In chemistry, a weak base is a chemical base that does not ionize fully in an aqueous solution. This results in a relatively low pH level. Weak bases exist in equillibrium much in the same way as weak acids do, with a Base Ionization Constant (K_b) indicating the strength of the base. For example, when ammonia is put in water, the following equillibrium sets up:

NH₃ + H₂O ↔ NH₄⁺ + OH^-      K_b = [OH-][NH₄^{+^]/[NH₃]}

Bases that have a large K_b will ionize more completely and are thus stronger bases. The pH of the solution depends on the OH^- concentration, which is related to H⁺ concentration by the Ionic Constant of water (K_w = 1.0x10^-14) (See article Self-ionization of water

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