Besides being an extremely amusing couple of words to say
phthalate phthalate phthalate!, potassium hydrogen phthalate is the
primary standard for base
titration. To unpack that a bit, potassium hydrogen phtalate is an
acidic compound about which we know a great deal. By reacting it to the equivalence point of
neutralization (when
pH is equivalent to 7.0) with an
aqueous base, the base's concentration can be found.
Potassium hydrogen phthalate comes most often as a white crystaline solid which can either be used in concentrated form or diluted in a solution. It has a mole ratio of 204.2 g/mol and a decomposition point of 295C. Frequently shortened to the acronym KHP, potassium hydrogen phthalate has a molecular formula of C8H5O4K.
__ C
// \ / \O--K
| ||
\\_/ \ /O-OH
C