Make Entry -- Become an Editor -- Most Popular: (10, 25, 50, 75, 100)

   Help

Weak Base

A weak base is a chemical base that, like a weak acid, doesn't fully ionize in a water-based solution. When a base ionizes, it takes up a hydrogen ion from the water base around it, leaving an OH- ion behind. The more OH- ions you have, the lower the pH is.

The pH of a base is just greater than 7 (which is the neutral number; below 7 is an acid) normally up to 14. A few bases can exceed a pH of 14.

Weak bases will have a higher H+ concentration than strong bases. Weak bases exist in chemical equilibrium in the same way weak acids do. The Base Ionization Constant is Kb, and indicates the strength of the base. Large Kbs belong to stronger bases.

Like weak acids, it is perfectly normal to have a strong concentration of a weak base. The amount of base in water does not matter; the proportion of the base that ionizes is the critical number. Low percentages result in a lower pH level.

Web Resources On Weak Base

Weak Acids and Bases
MSDS HyperGlossary: Base

Book Resources On Weak Base

The determination of ionization by ultraviolet colorimetry by Leo Aaron Flexser
Clinical Physiology of Acid-Base and Electrolyte Disorders by Burton David Rose, Theodore Post

Site Maps: Most Recent | Clusters | Browse
New: Graduate Student Job Opportunity