Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Different methods of endpoint (Titration)

Different Type of Endpoints:
pH indicator: This is a substance that changes colour in response to a chemical change. An acid-base indicator (e.g., phenolphthalein) changes colour depending on the pH.
Redox indicators are also frequently used. A drop of indicator solution is added to the titration at the start; when the colour changes the endpoint has been reached.
A potentiometer: can also be used. This is an instrument that measures the electrode potential of the solution. These are used for titrations based on a redox reaction; the potential of the working electrode will suddenly change as the endpoint is reached.
pH meter: This is a potentiometer that uses an electrode whose potential depends on the amount of H+ ion present in the solution. (This is an example of an ion-selective electrode.) This allows the pH of the solution to be measured throughout the titration. At the endpoint, there will be a sudden change in the measured pH. It can be more accurate than the indicator method, and is very easily automated.
Conductance: The conductivity of a solution depends on the ions that are present in it. During many titrations, the conductivity changes significantly. (For instance, during an acid-base titration, the H+ and OH- ions react to form neutral H2O. This changes the conductivity of the solution.) The total conductance of the solution depends also on the other ions present in the solution (such as counter ions). Not all ions contribute equally to the conductivity; this also depends on the mobility of each ion and on the total concentration of ions (ionic strength). Thus, predicting the change in conductivity is harder than measuring it.
Colour change: In some reactions, the solution changes colour without any added indicator. This is often seen in redox titrations, for instance, when the different oxidation states of the product and reactant produce different colours.
Precipitation: If the reaction forms a solid, then a precipitate will form during the titration. A classic example is the reaction between Ag+ and Cl- to form the very insoluble salt AgCl. This usually makes it difficult to determine the endpoint precisely. As a result, precipitation titrations often have to be done as "back" titrations.
An isothermal titration calorimeter: uses the heat produced or consumed by the reaction to determine the endpoint. This is important in biochemical titrations, such as the determination of how substrates bind to enzymes.
Thermometric titrimetry is an extraordinarily versatile technique. This is differentiated from calorimetric titrimetry by the fact that the heat of the reaction (as indicated by temperature rise or fall) is not used to determine the amount of analyte in the sample solution. Instead, the endpoint is determined by the rate of temperature change.
Spectroscopy can be used to measure the absorption of light by the solution during the titration, if the spectrum of the reactant, titrant or product is known. The relative amounts of the product and reactant can be used to determine the endpoint.
Amperometry can be used as a detection technique (amperometric titration). The current due to the oxidation or reduction of either the reactants or products at a working electrode will depend on the concentration of that species in solution. The endpoint can be detected as a change in the current. This method is most useful when the excess titrant can be reduced, as in the titration of halides with Ag+. (This is handy also in that it ignores precipitates.)
Back Titration: The term back titration is used when a titration is done "backwards": instead of titrating the original analyte, one adds a known excess of a standard reagent to the solution, then titrates the excess. A back titration is useful if the endpoint of the reverse titration is easier to identify than the endpoint of the normal titration. They are also useful if the reaction between the analyte and the titrant is very slow.

4 comments:

  1. gives bag of basic knowledge of every titration.

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  2. Informative Topic with impressed work .Thanks for sharing such useful content. Keep sharing Surya Informatics

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  3. Thank you so much for your article, it helped me with my chemistry lab report!

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