When studying systems containing citric and tartaric acids, the authors usually chose Na or K salts as supporting electrolytes. However, processes of complex formation of these cations with citrate or tartrate ions are not taken into consideration, which introduces significant errors in the results obtained. The literature data on the stability constant and heat effects of citric acid or tartaric acid complexes with Na or K ions in aqueous solution are listed in Table 1. The analysis of these data reveals their poor agreement, which requires additional study of stability constants of citrate and tartrate complexes with Na or K ions in aqueous solutions. Tetramethylammonium chloride should be used as a supporting electrolyte, which will make it possible to obtain true values of the stability constants. It is also necessary to determine heat effects of complexation of citric and tartaric acids with Na + and K + ions at several values of ionic strength and temperature.This work was undertaken with the aim to study the formation of citrate and tartrate complexes with Na + and K + ions at 298.15 K and ionic strength of a solution 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3, in a wide range of concentrations and pH values.
EXPERIMENTALAnalytical grade citric and tartaric acids were used; reagent grade sodium and potassium chlorides were recrystallized twice from redistillate and dried at 430 K to constant weight. Solutions of chlorides were prepared before experiments by dissolving weighed samples in redistillate. High-purity grade tetraethylammonium chloride (TEACl) used as a supporting electrolyte was recrystallized from a mixture of isopropyl alcohol and acetone (the content of chlorine, which was monitored by potentiometric titration with silver nitrate, was 98.5%). Reagent grade hydroxides of tetraethylammonium ( TEAOH ), sodium, and potassium were also used; the content of carbonates in solution did not exceed 1.5%, which was controlled by acid-base titration with two indicators. Foreign ion impurities contained in TEAOH were removed by passing a solution through ion-exchange resin in OH-form.The stability constants of Na and K complexes with citric and tartaric acids were determined by potentiometric titration. The emf of a cell consisting of a glass and silver-chloride electrodes was measured. The glass electrode potential was measured with a P-363 potentiometer and a 340 pH-meter served as zero instrument. An accuracy of potential measurements was ± 0.1 mV; the temperature in potentiometric cell was maintained with an accuracy of ± 0.1 K. Before each experiment and after recording the titration curve, the device was calibrated with the standard solutions of HCl and TEAOH (0.01 mol/l) at a given ionic strength of a solution. The titration curves were recorded at I = 0.1 and 0.3 mol/l of TEACl and at 298.15 K. In order to prevent penetration of CO 2 from air, inert gas (argon) was passed though a solution in potentiometric cell. The potentiometric titration was conducted by two methods.1. A precise volume (20.03 ml) of citric (tartaric) ...