化学中，缓冲溶液为什么可以减小pH变化量（with English version）

缓冲溶液可以减小pH变化量，是因为它们含有能够接受或释放氢离子（H+）的化学物质，这些物质被称为缓冲剂。缓冲剂通常由一个弱酸和其相应的共轭碱或一个弱碱和其相应的共轭酸组成。这种配对的存在使得缓冲溶液能够抵抗外部添加的酸或碱所引起的pH变化，从而使溶液的pH值保持相对稳定。

当酸或碱被加入缓冲溶液时，缓冲剂中的成分会发挥作用，接受或释放氢离子，以抵消外部添加的氢离子或氢氧根离子（OH-）。这个反应可以用下面的示例来说明：

假设你有一个含有醋酸和醋酸钠的缓冲溶液，它们是一对共轭酸碱。醋酸是一个弱酸，它会释放一些H+离子：

CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO- + H+

当你向这个缓冲溶液中加入酸（H+离子）时，醋酸会接受这些额外的H+离子，减小了外部酸的浓度。类似地，如果你加入碱（OH-离子），醋酸的共轭碱（醋酸根离子）会释放H+离子，中和外部碱的OH-离子。这些互相作用的过程使得缓冲溶液的pH值变化较小，因为它们能够维持溶液中H+离子和OH-离子的浓度在相对恒定的水平上。

总之，缓冲溶液之所以能够减小pH变化量，是因为它们含有缓冲剂，可以调节溶液中H+和OH-离子的浓度，从而维持pH值的稳定。这对于许多化学和生物学过程中需要维持恒定pH环境的情况非常重要。

A buffer solution can reduce changes in pH because it contains chemical substances capable of accepting or releasing hydrogen ions (H+), known as buffer agents. Buffer solutions typically consist of a weak acid and its corresponding conjugate base or a weak base and its corresponding conjugate acid. This pairing allows the buffer solution to resist pH changes caused by the addition of external acids or bases, thereby maintaining the pH of the solution relatively stable.

When an acid or base is added to a buffer solution, the components of the buffer agent will come into play by accepting or releasing hydrogen ions to counteract the additional hydrogen ions or hydroxide ions (OH-) introduced from the outside. This reaction can be illustrated using the following example:

Suppose you have a buffer solution containing acetic acid and acetate, which form a conjugate acid-base pair. Acetic acid is a weak acid that releases some H+ ions:

CH3COOH ⇌ CH3COO- + H+

When you add acid (H+ ions) to this buffer solution, acetic acid will accept these extra H+ ions, reducing the concentration of external acid. Similarly, if you add a base (OH- ions), the conjugate base of acetic acid (acetate ion) will release H+ ions to neutralize the external base's OH- ions. These interacting processes minimize the change in pH of the buffer solution because they maintain the concentration of H+ and OH- ions at relatively constant levels.

In summary, a buffer solution can reduce changes in pH because it contains buffer agents that can adjust the concentration of H+ and OH- ions in the solution, thereby maintaining a stable pH. This is crucial in many chemical and biological processes where a constant pH environment is required.

 

从量化的角度来看，缓冲溶液的能力减小pH变化量可以通过酸碱平衡的数学表达式来解释。这个表达式是Henderson-Hasselbalch方程，它如下所示：

pH = pKa + log([A-]/[HA])

其中，
- pH是溶液的pH值。
- pKa是缓冲溶液中的弱酸的离解常数（通常以-log10(Ka)表示）。
- [A-]是缓冲溶液中的共轭碱的浓度。
- [HA]是缓冲溶液中的弱酸的浓度。

从这个方程可以看出，pH的变化与pKa值、[A-]和[HA]的比例有关。如果你保持[A-]和[HA]的比例大致相等，那么pH将保持相对稳定，即使你添加酸或碱。

当[A-]等于[HA]时，log([A-]/[HA])等于零，因此pH等于pKa。这意味着pH等于缓冲溶液的pKa值。如果你添加一些酸或碱，改变了[A-]和[HA]的比例，但它们仍然保持在一定范围内，pH的变化将相对较小。

因此，要量化地解释为什么缓冲溶液可以减小pH变化量，关键在于保持缓冲剂的共轭碱和弱酸浓度比例相对恒定，这会使Henderson-Hasselbalch方程中的log项保持接近零，从而使pH保持稳定。这是缓冲溶液的量化原理。

 

From a quantitative perspective, the ability of a buffer solution to reduce changes in pH can be explained using the mathematical expression of acid-base equilibrium known as the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation:

pH = pKa + log([A-]/[HA])

Here,
- pH is the pH of the solution.
- pKa is the dissociation constant (usually represented as -log10(Ka)) of the weak acid in the buffer solution.
- [A-] is the concentration of the conjugate base in the buffer solution.
- [HA] is the concentration of the weak acid in the buffer solution.

From this equation, it can be seen that the change in pH is related to the pKa value, the ratio of [A-] to [HA], and the logarithm of this ratio. If you maintain the ratio of [A-] to [HA] roughly equal, then the pH will remain relatively stable, even when you add acid or base.

When [A-] equals [HA], log([A-]/[HA]) equals zero, and pH equals pKa. This means that pH is equal to the pKa of the buffer solution. If you add some acid or base, altering the ratio of [A-] to [HA], but keeping them within a certain range, the change in pH will be relatively small.

Therefore, to quantitatively explain why a buffer solution can reduce changes in pH, it's crucial to maintain the ratio of the conjugate base and weak acid concentrations relatively constant, which keeps the log term in the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation close to zero, thus stabilizing the pH. This is the quantitative principle behind buffer solutions.