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(Redirected from Boiling point elevation) Boiling-point elevation describes the phenomenon that the boiling point of a liquid (a solvent) will be higher when another compound is added, meaning that a solution has a higher boiling point than a pure solvent. This happens whenever a non-volatile solute, such as a salt, is added to a pure solvent, such as water. The boiling point can be measured accurately using an ebullioscope.
Contents
1 Explanation 2 The general equation for calculations at dilute concentration 2.1 Ebullioscopic constants 3 Uses 4 See also 5 References
Explanation
The boiling point elevation is a colligative property, which means that it is dependent on the presence of dissolved particles and their number, but not their identity. It is an effect of the dilution of the solvent in the presence of a solute. It is a phenomenon that happens for all solutes in all solutions, even in ideal solutions, and does not depend on any specific solute-solvent interactions. The boiling point elevation happens both when the solute is an electrolyte, such as various salts, and a nonelectrolyte. In thermodynamic terms, the origin of the boiling point elevation is entropic and can be explained in terms of the vapor pressure or chemical potential of the solvent. In both cases, the explanation depends on the fact that many solutes are only present in the liquid phase and do not enter into the gas phase (except at extremely high temperatures). Put in vapor pressure terms, a liquid boils at the temperature when its vapor pressure equals the surrounding pressure. For the solvent, the presence of the solute decreases its vapor pressure by dilution. A non-volatile solute has a vapor pressure of zero, so the vapor pressure of the solution is less than the vapor pressure of the solvent. Thus, a higher temperature is needed for the vapor pressure to reach the surrounding pressure, and the boiling point is elevated. Put in chemical potential terms, at the boiling point, the liquid phase and the gas (or vapor) phase have the same The change in chemical potential of a solvent when a solute is added chemical potential (or vapor pressure) meaning that they are energetically equivalent. The chemical potential is explains why boiling point elevation takes place. dependent on the temperature, and at other temperatures either the liquid or the gas phase has a lower chemical potential and is more energetically favorable than the other phase. This means that when a non-volatile solute is added, the chemical potential of the solvent in the liquid phase is decreased by dilution, but the chemical potential of the solvent in the gas phase is not affected. This means in turn that the equilibrium between the liquid and gas phase is established at another temperature for a solution than a pure liquid, i.e., the boiling point is elevated.[1] The phenomenon of freezing-point depression is analogous to boiling point elevation. However, the magnitude of the freezing point depression is larger than the boiling point elevation for the same solvent and the same concentration of a solute. Because of these two phenomena, the liquid range of a solvent is increased in the presence of a solute.
Ebullioscopic constants
Values of the ebullioscopic constants Kb for selected solvents:[2]
Boiling point in C Ebullioscopic constant Kb in units of [(Ckg)/mol] or [C/molal] 118.1 80.1 46.2 217.9 181.75 100 3.07 2.53 2.37 4.95 5.8 3.04 0.512
Uses
Together with the formula above, the boiling-point elevation can in principle be used to measure the degree of dissociation or the molar mass of the solute. This kind of measurement is called ebullioscopy (Greek "boiling-viewing"). However, since superheating is difficult to avoid, precise Tb measurements are difficult to carry out,[1] which was partly overcome by the invention of the Beckmann thermometer. Furthermore, the cryoscopic constant that determine freezing-point depression is larger than the ebullioscopic constant, and since the freezing point is often easier to measure with precision, it is more common to use cryoscopy. Among many urban legends[3] related to the effect of ebullioscopic increase, one of them leads to adding salt when cooking pasta only after water has started boiling. The misconception is that since the water boils at a higher temperature, food will cook faster. However, at the approximate concentration of salt in water for cooking (10 g of salt per 1 kg of water, or 1 teaspoon per quart), the ebullioscopic increase is approximately 0.17 C (0.31 F), which will arguably make no practical difference for cooking.
See also
Dhring's rule Freezing point depression List of boiling and freezing information of solvents
References
1. ^ a b c P. W. Atkins, Physical Chemistry , 4th Ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1994, ISBN 0-19-269042-6, p. 222-225 2. ^ P. W. Atkins, Physical Chemistry, 4th Ed., p. C17 (Table 7.2) 3. ^ Some questions and answers about salt in water when cooking (http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100403123516AAsuAhf)
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