Examination of acidity functions by characteristic vector analysis

Abstract

Characteristic vector analysis has been applied to 112 acidity function data sets of various strong acids as variables of the percentage, and to 51 acidity function data sets as variables of the molar concentration in water–organic solvents. It has been found that only one characteristic vector, V, an independent variable, produces differences in each set of acidity functions. This vector is a statistically universal measure of acidity and depends on acid concentration. It is independent of the nature of the acid. A further parameter, S, depends on the nature of the acid and on the acidity function. The reconstituted acidity function given by the equation H_m,i=H_m,i+V_1,iS_1,m explains more than 98% of the experimental variations of the acidity function.