The key difference between aqueous and non-aqueous titration is that aqueous titrations use water as the solvent for dissolving the analyte samples for the titration, whereas non-aqueous titrations use organic solvents for dissolving the sample.
Titration is an analytical technique that is useful in measuring the concentration of a certain chemical solution. We can do this using a solution that has a known concentration. A titration process requires a specific apparatus.
In a titration apparatus, there is a burette that usually contains a standard solution with a known concentration. If the solution in the burette is not a standard solution, it should be standardized using a primary standard. The titration flask is filled with a sample constating a chemical component with an unknown concentration. If the standardized solution (in burette) cannot act as a self-indicator, we should add a suitable indicator to the sample in the titration flask.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is an Aqueous Titration
3. What is a Non-aqueous Titration
4. Aqueous vs Non-aqueous Titration in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Aqueous vs Non-aqueous Titration
What is an Aqueous Titration?
Aqueous titrations are analytical techniques where we can determine the amount of the desired substance present in the sample using water as the solvent of the sample. There are different types of aqueous titrations we can use in analytical chemistry, including acid-base titrations, redox titrations, complexometric titrations, and precipitation titrations.
Figure 01: Diagram of an Acid-Base Titration
Types of Titrations
Acid base titrations are also named neutralization titrations, and we can dissolve the unknown sample in water to determine the amount of acid/base in the sample using base/acid in the burette. Usually, the resultant solution after the completion of the titration is a neutral solution having pH = 7.0. Moreover, a salt is often formed.
Redox titrations are oxidation-reduction reactions where a reducing agent reacts with an oxidizing agent allowing us to determine the amount of the desired substance in a sample. The sample is in the aqueous state because we need to dissolve it in water.
In complexometric titrations, a complex molecule forms at the endpoint of the titration. This chemical reaction takes place in an aqueous solution which leads us to categorize this reaction type under aqueous titrations.
Precipitation titration is a type of titration where the formation of a solid precipitate occurs at the bottom of the flask we use for the titration. In this type of reaction, the analyte is in an aqueous solution, but the precipitate that forms after the completion of the titration must be insoluble in water.
What is a Non-aqueous Titration?
Non-aqueous titrations are analytical techniques where we can determine the amount of the desired substance present in the sample using organic liquids as the solvent for the sample. Therefore, this type of titrations is important when determining the amount of a particular analyte in a sample, which is insoluble in water. There are several types of non-aqueous titrations, including acid-base titrations, redox titrations, iodometry, and iodimetry.
In non-aqueous acid base titrations, the chemical reaction takes place in organic solvents such as glacial acetic acid. In redox reactions of the non-aqueous titration category, the chemical reaction occurs through the use of water-insoluble oxidizing and reducing agents.
Moreover, non-aqueous titrations such as iodometry and iodimetry involve non-aqueous solutions of analyte samples. Iodometry involves the release of iodine from the reaction mixture, and iodimetry involves the use of a sample having a known concentration of iodine.
What is the Difference Between Aqueous and Non-aqueous Titration?
Aqueous and non-aqueous titrations are analytical techniques. The key difference between aqueous and non-aqueous titration is that aqueous titrations use water as the solvent for dissolving the analyte samples for the titration, whereas non-aqueous titrations use organic solvents for dissolving the sample.
The following infographic presents the differences between aqueous and non-aqueous titration in tabular form.
Summary – Aqueous vs Non-aqueous Titration
Titrations are analytical techniques we can use to quantify the amount of the desired substance present in a given sample. The key difference between aqueous and non-aqueous titration is that aqueous titrations use water as the solvent for dissolving the analyte samples for the titration, whereas non-aqueous titrations use organic solvents for dissolving the sample.