Why ostwald's dilution is not applicable to strong electrolytes?
《》Ostwald Dilution Law. “Degree of dissociation of weak electrolyte is directly proportional to square root of dilution.”
••••• This law is not applicable for strong electrolytes because strong electrolytes completely ionize at all dilution.......
Why ostwald's dilution is not applicable to strong electrolytes?
Introduction:
Ostwald's dilution law states that the degree of dissociation of a weak electrolyte is directly proportional to the square root of the dilution. However, this law is not applicable to strong electrolytes. There are several reasons why Ostwald's dilution law is not applicable to strong electrolytes.
Reasons why Ostwald's dilution law is not applicable to strong electrolytes:
1. Complete dissociation:
Strong electrolytes are completely dissociated in a solution, which means that they exist in the form of ions. Therefore, the degree of dissociation of a strong electrolyte is already 100%, and it cannot increase further with dilution.
2. Ionic strength:
Ionic strength is defined as the concentration of ions in a solution. Strong electrolytes have a high ionic strength, and the presence of a large number of ions in a solution can lead to the formation of ion pairs and complex ions, which can affect the degree of dissociation.
3. Electrostatic interactions:
Strong electrolytes have a high charge density, which means that the positive and negative ions are strongly attracted to each other. This can lead to the formation of ion pairs and complex ions, which can affect the degree of dissociation.
4. Concentration effect:
Strong electrolytes can have a concentration effect, which means that the concentration of the electrolyte can affect the degree of dissociation. This is because the ions can interact with each other and with the solvent molecules in a solution.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, Ostwald's dilution law is not applicable to strong electrolytes because they are completely dissociated in a solution, have a high ionic strength, and can form ion pairs and complex ions. Therefore, other methods such as Debye-Hückel theory and activity coefficients are used to calculate the behavior of strong electrolytes in solution.
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