Home > Community > What is the chemical reaction when potassium hydrogen phthalate and sodium hydroxide are mixed?
Upvote

17

Downvote
+ Chemical reactions
+ Potassium
+ Sodium
+ Chemistry
Posted by
Medicos

What is the chemical reaction when potassium hydrogen phthalate and sodium hydroxide are mixed?

David Goodman  Follow

The hydrogen phthalate salt can donate another proton to the base (NaOH), so an acid-base neutralisation reaction occurs

KOOCC6H4COOH + NaOH → KOOCC6H4COONa + H2O

You get the sodium potassium salt left in solution.

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
Alan Mayer  Follow

Neutralisation or acid-base reaction

Potassium hydrogen phthalate is an acidic salt in nature due to having one carboxyl group (COOH) which allows neutralisation.

KOOCC6H4COOH + NaOH

→KOOCC6H4COONa + water

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
Dallas Hall's Space  Follow

These answers are all perfect so I thought I'd add a more general spin.

Think about all basic chemical reactions between two species, a + b goes to c + d. There is a very high chance at your level that the two species will react to form two (sometimes three) chemicals. The atoms on either side of the equation have to be the same, just distributed differently. You'll probably just cut the molecules in “half”, switch them round and stick them back together again.

Now onto the word equation. Potassium hydrogen phthalate reacts with sodium hydroxide. This means that realistically the sodium must react to make something with either the potassium, the hydrogen or the phthalate. Hydroxide will also have to react with one of those three things.

There are a few basic reactions that you should know. One of the most important is that an acid will react with a base to form something plus water. Sodium hydroxide is the most common base. A hydroxide is desperate for a hydrogen so it can form water. Then all you are left with is sodium potassium phthalate.

This question is trying to trick you on two points. First it asks about the phthalate group. Phthalates are not very common and are otherwise unheard of at your level. This has a tendency to panic people (“I've never heard of that, how am I supposed to know how it reacts?!?!). Heaven forbid you look up it's chemical structure, or worse, it's chemical formula!!

Secondly, it already has a group one ion in it. By doing that it already looks deprotonated, so how can it possibly be an acid base reaction! Also sodium potassium phthalate just doesn't sound right! If it was two sodiums or two potassium the answer would seem to a beginner in chemistry to be a lot more likely.

To summarise, if you recognise either a common acid (HCl, sulfuric etc) or a common base (NaOH, potassium carbonate etc.) Then there is a very high chance that you are dealing with an acid base reaction. Find a way to make water (in this case hydrogen reacting with the hydroxide). After that, whatever you are left with is probably the answer (though with carbonate you have CO2 as well). The question looks hard, but the word equation has that nice juicy potassium HYDROGEN phthalate in it. WWhilst the other answers have written down the chemical formula for phthalate it's definately a question more simply answered with a word equation. After all, a question that is asking you to solve a reaction by giving you a word equation is only looking for a word equation answer (unless explicitly stated).

Hope that helps!

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
David Ocame  Follow

Potassium hydrogen phthalate is an acidic salt compound. It forms white powder.

It forms a colourless solution in water.

It is an ionic solid that is the monopotassium salt of phthalic acid.

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
Dan Hamlish  Follow

Phthalic acid is a diprotic acid . In KHP = potassium hydrogen phthalate, 1 carboxylic group has been reacted with K+ giving the potassium salt

You can write this as

……..COOH ……… …….. …… ……. COOK

R …………………..+ K+ → R

……COOH ….. ….. ……. ……. ……..COOH

When you react the KHP with NaOH , you react the second carboylic group to give the Na salt . You then have NaKP

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
Angi B  Follow

Yes NaOH neutralizes acids let us consider an example of ÑaOH and acid HCl the reaction will be

NaOH +HCl = NaCl +H2O

In the reaction that occurs between acid and a base the salt formation takes place with relaese of water the salt is a neutral substance so in this way the ÑaOH (alkali) neutralized an acid

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote
David A. Smith  Follow

This chemical reaction is an acid base neutralization reaction. A salt and water is produced.

KOOCC6H4COOH + NaOH → KOOCC6H4COONA + H2O.

More

Upvote

VOTE

Downvote