Acid–Base Zeta-Metric Titration of Quartz Dispersions in Ethanol Solutions of Electrolytes

Abstract

The conductivity of dilute quartz suspensions and electrophoretic mobility of quartz particles in solutions with the concentration C = 10^–5–10^–2 M XBr (X = H, Cs, Na, and Li) and NaOH, as well as in mixed solutions of 10^–4 M XBr (X = Cs, Na, and Li) + 10^–4–10^–2 M HBr and 10^–4 M XBr + 10^–4–10^–2 M XOH (X = Cs, Na, and Li) in ethanol containing 6 vol % of water were measured using conductometry and microelectrophoresis. The values of surface conductivity of quartz were calculated by the Wagner formula and used to calculate zeta potential by the Henry–Booth formula. The resultant dependences ζ(logC) suggest that the value and sign of zeta potential are determined not only by the adsorption of potential-determining ions Н⁺ and ОН^–, but also by the competitive specific adsorption of all ions of the aforementioned electrolytes, the adsorption values increasing in a cation series Li⁺ < Na⁺ < Cs⁺ < H⁺ and an anion series Br^– < OH^–. In particular, it is found that the titration of the above suspensions with XOH bases results in the reversal of zeta potential sign from negative to positive at a concentration depending on the adsorption capacity of alkali cation.