and the mean protons donated is the abundance-weighted mean of j:
f(pH) =Σ j·Rⱼ /Σ Rⱼ
This is Henderson–Hasselbalch generalised to a polyprotic acid. It gives the
number of equivalents one mole of the acid delivers at this pH, which is what
the charge balance needs. We work in the exponent domain and subtract the
max so that strong acids (pKa ≪ 0) and very high pH can't overflow.
Mean number of protons an acid has donated at a given pH.
For an acid
HₙAwith stepwise dissociation constantsK₁…Kₙ, the relative abundance of the species that has lostjprotons isand the mean protons donated is the abundance-weighted mean of
j:This is Henderson–Hasselbalch generalised to a polyprotic acid. It gives the number of equivalents one mole of the acid delivers at this pH, which is what the charge balance needs. We work in the exponent domain and subtract the max so that strong acids (pKa ≪ 0) and very high pH can't overflow.
Sanity checks, all covered by tests: