ACID DISSOCIATION CONSTANT OF METHYL RED

The spectrophotometric determination of the acid dissociation constant of a dye

is illustrated.

Apparatus
Bausch and Lomb Spectronic 20 (L); Set of four matched cells (13x100 mm test
tubes)(S); pH meter (L); Standard buffer of pH 6.00 (S); six 100 ml volumetric
flasks (D,S); 5 ml, 10 ml, and 25 ml pipettes (D).

Chemicals
Stock solution of Methyl Red (L); 60 ml 95% ethanol (L); distilled H2O (L); 250 ml
0.04 M sodium acetate (P); 100 ml 0.01 M sodium acetate (P); 100 ml 0.05 M
acetic acid (P); 25 ml 0.1 M HCl (P); 100 ml 0.01 M HCl (P); stock CoCl2 solution
[2g CoCl2•6H2O per 100 ml 0.3 M HCl](L); glacial acetic acid (L).

THEORY. Calculations involving the dissociation constants of weak acids and

bases are fundamental to any discussion of homogenous equilibrium.
Equilibrium is defined at the point when the change in Gibbs Free Energy for the
process (or reaction) is equal to zero. This equilibrium point will depend on the
concentration of the various reactants. For an ideal solution (and only for an
ideal solution) the Gibbs Free Energy for a compound can be written as a
function of the concentration, C, of the compound and the standard Free energy
of the compound in some standard state ∆Go (usually when the concentration
equals one molar).
∆G = ∆G o + RT ln([C ])

For acid base equilibrium some acid HA will dissolve in water with a
concentration we will label [HA]. Part of the dissolved acid will dissociates into a
hydrogen ion H+ and a conjugate acid A- by the following reaction.

HA ⇔ H+ + A-

The Free Energy change of this reaction can be expressed as follows:

∆G R = ∆G H + + ∆G A− − ∆G HA
= ∆G HA
o
+ RT ln([HA]) − (∆G Ho + + RT ln([H + ]) + ∆G Ao _ + RT ln([ A − ]))
 [ H + ][ A − ] 
= ∆G + RT ln
o
R
 = 0 At equilibrium
 [ HA ] 

1
Therefore at equilibrium, the quantity [HA]/[H+][A-] must be a constant since ∆Go
is not a function of concentration. We will call this quantity K. For methyl red, the
ion A-, is given in Figure 1.

CO2

(CH3)2N N=N  N Acid form HMR

H
-
CO2

(CH3)2N N=N  N Basic Form MR- + H+

Figure 1. Acid (HMR) and basic (MR-) form of methyl red.

Methyl red provides a particularly good system with which to study acid-base
equilibrium since both HMR and MR- have strong absorption peaks in the visible
portion of the spectrum.

In aqueous solution methyl red is a zwitterion and has a resonance structure

somewhere between the two extreme forms. This is the red form HMR in which
methyl red exists in acid solutions. When base is added, a proton is lost and the
yellow anion MR- of methyl red has the structure shown at the bottom of the
figure. The basic form is yellow because it absorbs blue and violet light. The
equilibrium Constant for the ionization of methyl red is

( H + )( MR − )
Kc = (1)
( HMR)

It is convenient to use this equation in the form

( MR − )
pKc = pH − log (2)
( HMR)

The ionization constant may be calculated from measurements of the ratio

(MR-)/ (HMR) at known pH values.

Since the two forms of methyl red absorb strongly in the visible range, the ratio
(MR-)/(HMR) may be determined spectrophotometrically. The absorption spectra
of methyl red in acidic and basic solutions are determined, and two wavelengths
are selected for analyzing mixtures of the two forms. These two wavelengths, λ1
and λ2, are chosen so that at one, the acidic form has a very large absorbancy

2
index compared with the basic form, and at the other, the situation is reversed.
The absorbancy indices of HMR and MR- are determined at both of these
wavelengths, using several concentrations to determine whether Beer’s law is
obeyed.

The composition of a mixture of HMR and MR- may be calculated from

absorbancies A1 and A2 at wavelengths λ1 and λ2 using, at unit cell thickness,

A1 = a1,HMR(HMR) + a1,MR-(MR-) (3)

A2 = a2,HMR(HMR) + a2,MR-(MR-) (4)

PROCEDURE. The procedure for this experiment has been described by

Tobey[1]. The methyl red is conveniently supplied as a stock solution made by
dissolving crystalline methyl red in 300 ml of 95 percent ethanol and diluting to
500 ml with distilled water. The standard solution of methyl red for use in this
experiment; is made by adding 5 ml of the stock solution to 50 ml of 95 percent
ethanol and diluting to 100 ml with water.

Preparation of Standard Solution

The absorption spectrum of methyl red is determined in hydrochloric acid solution
as solvent to obtain the spectrum of HMR and in sodium acetate solution as
solvent to obtain the spectrum of MR-. Distilled water is used in the reference
cell. Since the equilibrium to be studied is affected by temperature, it is important
that all the spectrophotometric and pH measurements be made at the same
temperature. If the cell compartment of the spectrophotometer is slightly above
room temperature, the filled cells should be placed in the spectrophotometer,
pictured in Figure 2, just before making the measurements. In order to obtain the
best results, the cell compartment should be thermostated. Distilled water should
be used to set the 0% and 100% transmission for each sample and each
wavelength.
The acidic solution is conveniently prepared by diluting a mixture of 10 ml of the
standard methyl red solution and 10 ml of 0.1 M hydrochloric acid to 100 ml. The
pH of this solution should be around 2.
The basic solution is conveniently prepared by diluting a mixture of 10 ml of the
standard methyl red solution and 25 ml of 0.04 M sodium acetate to 100 ml. The
pH of this solution should be around 8.

3
 Sample
Holder
Set
Wavelength

Set Zero Set 100%

Figure 2. Apparatus for the determination of the transmission and absorbance of

a sample, a spectrophotometer.

You must prepare your own 0.04 M sodium acetate; weigh out the appropriate
amount of NaC2H3O2, place in a 250 ml volumetric flask and add distilled H2O
up to the fiducial line. Dilute 25 ml of this 0.04M solution to 100 ml to prepare
100 ml of 0.01 M sodium acetate. Dilute 10 ml 0.1 M HCl to 100 ml to prepare
0.01 M HCl. To prepare the acetic acid solution: weigh 100 ml volumetric flask;
add 3 ml glacial acetic acid, reweigh, dilute to 100 ml mark giving 0.5 M solution;
now dilute 10 ml of this to 100 ml to get 100 ml 0.05 M acetic acid.

Using these standard solutions, the appropriate solution(s) for the measurement
of the acid’s equilibrium constant will be prepared. Check to see that the
spectrophotometer cells are matched using the following procedure: (1) half-fill a
tube with the stock CoCl2 solution; (2) set λ = 510 nm, place tube in
compartment and adjust light control so that meter reads 90% transmission; (3)
find three other tubes that give 90% transmission (or less than 1% variation from
the reference tube). Operating instructions for the Spectronic 20 are given on the
instrument case.

Measure the absorption spectrum of methyl red in the HCl solution and in the
sodium acetate solution between 350 and 600 nm using H2O in the reference

4
cell. This is done to find the absorption maxima for each species. Sample
results are presented in Figure 3. From the plots of absorbancy versus
wavelength which just obtained, two wavelengths are selected for analyzing
mixtures of the acidic and basic forms of methyl red. These wavelength need not
be at the maximums, but should have the greatest difference between the
absorbancy of the acid and base form.

Figure 3. Absorbancy of HMR and MR- as a function of wavelength λ.

Further spectrophotometric measurements over a range of concentration are

made at these two wavelengths with both acidic and basic solutions to check
whether Beer's law is obeyed. Portions of the acid solutions (A) and basic
solution (B) are diluted to 0.75, 0.50, and 0.25 times their initial concentration
using 0.01 M HCl and 0.01 M NaAc respectively. Sample results are presented
in Figure 4. This plot is used to calculate the four constants in equations 3 and
4.

5
Figure 4. Absorbance of acid and basic form of methyl red at two wavelengths.

To determine the ionization constant of methyl red, the relative amounts of HMR
and MR- present in solution must be obtained as a function of pH.
Spectrophotometic analyses are carried out on solutions containing 0.01 N
sodium acetate, a constant total concentration of indicator, and various
concentrations of acetic acid. The pH values of these solutions are measured,
using a pH meter as pictured in Figure 5, at the same temperature as the
spectrophotometric measurements. A standard buffer solution can be used to
calibrate the pH meter using the pH set knob, and an additional buffer solution
with a different pH should be used to confirm that the meter is calibrated.

For methyl red it is convenient to use acetic acid concentrations ranging from
0.001 to 0.05 N. The color of these methyl red solutions should vary from the
acidic color to the basic color as seen in Figure 6.

6
 pH set

Figure 5. pH meter

Figure 6. Methyl red solution with varying pH.

7
CALCULATIONS. Plots are prepared of absorbancy versus wavelength and
absorbancy versus concentration of dye in acidic and basic solutions at λ1 and
λ2. The values of the various absorbancy indices are calculated.

The concentrations of the acidic and basic forms of the dye in the various buffer
solutions are calculated by using Eqs. (3) and (4).

Equation (2) is used to calculate the pK value for the dye. As a means of testing
and averaging the data, log [(MR-)/(HMR)] may be plotted versus the pH. An
average value from the literature[2] is 5.05 ± 0.05 for the 25 to 30° temperature
range.

Practical applications. This method is useful for studying dyes for use as
indicators in acid- base titrations, or by an analogous procedure for indicators for
oxidation-reduction titrations.

Suggestions for further work. The pK values for other common dyes may be
determined. General references are cited.3

References
1. S. W. Tobey, J. Chem. Educ., 35: 514 (1958).
2. 1. M. Kolthoff, “Acid-Base Indicators,” The Macmillan Company, New York,
1953.
3. R. P. Bell, “Acids and Bases: Their Quantitative Behavior,” Methuen & Co.,
Ltd., London, 1952; “The Proton in Chemistry,” Cornell University Press, Ithaca,
N.Y., 1959.

8
SPECTROPHOTOMETRIC DETERMINATION OF AN EQUILIBRIUM
CONSTANT

The equilibrium constant for a reaction in solution is determined from a study of the
concentration dependence on the intensity of an absorption band in the spectrum of the
solution.

THEORY. The present experiment illustrates an important method for the study of
chemical equilibrium in solution. The method utilizes differences in the light absorbing
properties of reactants and products and is particularly appropriate for systems for which
classical methods of chemical analysis cannot be used to find the concentrations of the
various species present.

The optical absorption spectrum, i.e., the percentage transmission of light as a function of
wavelength, has been investigated for iodine in a variety of solvents. Associated with the
color of the solutions is a strong absorption in the neighborhood of 500 mµ. In certain
solvents, especially aromatic compounds, a new absorption band appears in the violet or
ultraviolet region. The new band has been attributed to a complex (a molecular
combination of iodine with solvent) existing in equilibrium with uncomplexed iodine and
solvent. By means of a quantitative study of the intensity of absorption at the peak of this
band, as a function of concentration, it is possible to test this interpretation and to obtain
a value for the equilibrium constant for the formation of the complex.l,2

The study is best carried out with iodine and the complexing organic substance,
mesitylene in this experiment, both present as solutes in dilute solution in an inert
solvent such as CCl4. (The inertness of CCl4, expected on chemical grounds, is
verified by the absence of new absorption bands in solutions of I2 in CCl4.) The initial
step involves the measurement of the percentage transmission over the appropriate
wavelength range, of three solutions: one containing solute only, one containing
mesitylene solute only, the third containing both I2 and mesitylene as
solutes. An absorption band present only in the spectrum of the third solution is
attributed to a 1:1 complex, M • I2, existing in equilibrium with free mesitylene

(M) and I2,

M + I2 = M• I2

K=X/(c1- X)(c2 -X) (1)

where cl = total concentration of mesitylene

c2 = total concentration of I2
X = concentration of complex at equilibrium
K = equilibrium constant

It remains to verify that an equilibrium condition of the form of Eq. (1) is consistent with
the concentration dependence of the absorption intensity and to evaluate K The new

9
absorption band occurs in a wavelength region in which absorption by uncomplexed
iodine and mesitylene is very slight; the investigation can therefore proceed without
serious interference from absorption due to uncomplexed solutes.

Let I and Io be intensities of light of a specified wavelength transmitted, respectively, by

solution and by pure solvent. Then the optical absorbancy A, defined by

A = -log l/Io (2)

is given by the Beer-Lambert law, for the case in which only one solute absorbs at
the given wavelength, by

A = abc

where a = molar absorbancy index of absorbing solute

b = length of light path in cell
c = concentration of absorbing solute

The molar absorbaney index depends on the wavelength, temperature, and solvent.

If several solutes absorb independently, the absorbances are additive. Thus

A = Al + A2 + A3 (3)
A1 = a1b(cl-x) (4)
A2 = a2b(c2-x) (5)
A3 = a3bx (6)

where al = molar absorbancy index of mesitylene

a2 = molar absorbancy index of I2
a3 = molar absorbancy index of complex

Hence, in the present case, measurement of absorbancy does not lead directly to values
for the concentration of complex. Al and A2, though smaller than A3 at the wavelength of
the peak of the new complex band, may not always be negligible; also, a3 is initially
unknown. However, the following indirect procedure yields values for a3 as well as for K.
A considerable simplification in the work results from restricting the investigation to
solutions in which mesitylene is present in large excess. Thus

c1 » c2 > X

Accordingly, for the calculation of A3 from A, the approximations

A1 = a1bc1
A2 = 0

10
may be used, with al calculated from the absorbancy measured at the given wavelength
for a solution containing only mesitylene as solute at a known concentration. The
equilibrium condition (1), with the approximation (7), simplifies to

K = X/c1(c2-x)

Upon replacement of x by A3/a3b and rearrangement, this becomes

A3/c1c2 = ba3K - (A3/c2)K (9)

Absorbancies are measured for a series of solutions made up with various known values
of cl and c2, and values of A3/clc2 plotted against A3/c2. If the data are well represented by
a straight line, the slope and intercept lead to values for a3 and K.

The inclusion of a correction for absorption due to uncomplexed I2 may be warranted if

the data are of sufficient accuracy. A procedure for carrying out this refinement is
outlined under Suggestions for Further Work.

A word of caution is in order with regard to the interpretation of the results. While it is
possible by the procedure outlined here to learn whether or not the absorbancies are
consistent with the postulated reaction equilibrium, linearity of the graph does not of
itself constitute proof that Eq. (1) represents the true state of affairs. It has in fact been
shown3,4 that a functional relationship among c1, c2, and A3 identical with that of Eq. (9)
will exist for a system described by two stages of complex formation,

M + X = MX K1 = (MX)/(M) (X)

MX + X = MX2 K2 = ( MX2)/(MX)(X)

if the ratio of the molar absorbancies of MX and MX2 happens to satisfy a certain
condition. (In this case A3, found experimentally as before, stands for the total
absorbancy due to complexed M.) The best procedure, therefore, when it can be used, is
to make measurements on more than one of the absorption bands due to the complex. The
necessary condition on the ratio of the absorbancies is likely not to be satisfied at each of
several widely different wavelengths, so that it will then become obvious if the system is
not obeying the equilibrium equations corresponding to Eq. (1).

Finally, a few comments will be made about the principle and operation of the
spectrophotometer.5 The function of a spectrophotometer is to produce monochromatic
light of a selected wavelength and to measure the intensity of light transmitted by a
solution relative to that transmitted by a sample of the pure solvent. The source is a
tungsten lamp. The wavelength to be used is selected by turning a knob which moves
the prism until light of the desired wavelength is directed toward the slit. The wavelength
scale is mechanically coupled to the same shaft. The slit, an aperture of adjustable width,
serves to admit only light of a narrow band of wavelengths; at the same time, it

11
necessarily determines the intensity of light passed. As the slit is widened to provide
greater intensity of light for the measurement, a wider range of wavelengths is permitted
to pass through. At wavelengths where the transmission of a sample varies rapidly with
wavelength, the slit width should be kept as narrow as possible, consistent with the need
for adequate intensity.

With the shutter closed, the so-called dark current of the phototube is balanced out so as
to give a meter deflection corresponding to zero percent transmission. With the shutter
open, and the pure solvent sample in the light path, the sensitivity and slit-width controls
are adjusted to give a deflection corresponding to 100 percent transmission. Finally, with
the solution sample in the light path, the deflection indicates directly the percent
transmission. The output meter scale is also calibrated directly in absorbance.

If the solution transmission is low, better accuracy may be attained by increasing the
sensitivity control by one or more steps; if this is done, the scale is altered: for the
Beckman model B spectrophotometer, 0.5 must be added to the absorbancy scale reading
for each step by which the sensitivity control has been advanced above that at which the
reference setting was made with the pure solvent.

For accurate work it is necessary to take into account differences among

spectrophotometer sample cells. The first to be considered is that resulting from
imperfections in the cell windows. To determine the correction for this effect, the cells
are cleaned and filled with nonabsorbing solvent. It is convenient to select the cell with
the highest transmission as the reference cell. The slit width is adjusted to give a
deflection corresponding to 100 percent transmission with this cell in the light path. The
other cells are then placed in turn in the light path, and the absorbancies, designated Ac
noted. The value of Ac for a particular cell is called the cell correction; Ac may vary with
wavelength. In subsequent measurements with solutions, the true sample absorbancy is
then found by subtracting the value of Ac for the cell used from the measured absorbancy
of the cell filled with the solution sample.

Second, the optical path lengths may be different for two cells of nominally the same
thickness. The path lengths for two cells can most easily be compared by measuring the
transmission for both filled with a series of absorbing solutions. The manufacturing
tolerances on cell thickness are close enough to permit omission of the path-length
correction in most student work.

Suggestions for further work. Combination of Eq. (8) and Eq. (9) give an expression
which may be used to calculate values of A2 for each solution after the first
approximation to K has been obtained by the procedure given above. Improved values of
A3 may then be calculated, and a new series of points plotted on the original graph. The
cycle may be repeated if the new value for K leads to appreciably different estimates for
values of A2. A value for a2 at the appropriate wavelength may be obtained from
measurements on the stock I2 solution.

References

12
1. H. A. Benesi and J. H. Hildebrand, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 71:2703 (1949).
2. L. J. Andrews and R. M. Keefer, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 74: 4500 (1952).
3. R. Kruh, J. Am. Chem. Soc., 76: 4865 (1954).
4. T. W. Newton and F. B. Baker, J. Phys. Chem., 61: 934 (1957).
5. W. West in A. Weissberger (ed.), “Technique of Organic Chemistry,” vol. 1, “Physical
Methods of Organic Chemistry,” 3d ed., pt. 3, chap. 28, Interscience Publishers, Inc.,
New York, 1960.
6. O. J. Walker, Trans. Faraday Soc., 31: 1432 (1935).

13