Question

Are $\mathrm{HCl}$ and $\mathrm{NaCl}$ a buffer solution?

Answer 1

$\mathrm{HCl}$ and $\mathrm{NaCl}$ are not buffer solutions.

$\mathrm{HCl}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)+\mathrm{Nacl}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)\to \mathrm{NaH}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)+{\mathrm{cl}}_2\left(\mathrm{g}\right)$

A salt ($\mathrm{NaCl}$) and water are produced in this reaction when an acid ($\mathrm{HCl}$) reacts with a base ($\mathrm{NaOH}$), The reaction is, therefore, a neutralizing reaction.

The two main types of buffer solutions.

Acidic buffer: An acidic buffer is a mixture of a weak acid, and a salt composed of a weak acid and a strong base.

1. Acetic acid is a weak acid, and sodium acetate is a salt composed of sodium hydroxide, a strong base, and weak acetic acid.
2. $C{H}_{3}COOH\left(l\right)+C{H}_{3}COONa\left(s\right)$ $\to {\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+\mathrm{NaOH}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)$ Potassium carbonate salt of potassium hydroxide, a potent oxidizing agent, and carbonic acid, a weak acid.
3. $H_{2}C{O}_3\left(i\right)+K_{2}C{O}_3\left(s\right)$ $\to {\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{CO}}_3\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+\mathrm{KOH}\left(\mathrm{s}\right)$

Basic buffer: A salt is composed of a weak base, and a strong acid is a basic buffer.

1. Examples include the weakly basic ammonium oxide and its salts.
2. Weak ammonium hydroxide and strong hydrochloric acid combine to form ammonium chloride.
3. $N{H}_{4}OH+N{H}_{4}Cl$ where $N{H}_{4}Cl$ is made up of ${\mathrm{NH}}_4\mathrm{OH}+\mathrm{HCl}$
4. A weak base, ammonium hydroxide, and its salt, weak ammonium hydroxide, and strong sulfuric acid combine to form a salt called ammonium sulfate.
5. $N{H}_{4}OH\left(l\right)+(N{H}_4{)}_{2}S{O}_4\left(s\right)$ f$\to {\mathrm{NH}}_4\mathrm{OH}\left(\mathrm{l}\right)+{\mathrm{H}}_2{\mathrm{SO}}_4\left(\mathrm{l}\right)$.
6. Since a buffer always requires a weak component, our combination of the strong acid HCl and the strong base NaCl ($\mathrm{HCl}+\mathrm{NaOH}$) cannot act as a buffer.

Hence, $\mathrm{HCl}$ and $\mathrm{NaCl}$ are not a buffer in the solution.