Effect of temperature and pressure on solubility and precipitation
Answers
Increasing pressure will increase the solubility of a gas in a solvent.
The Effect of Pressure on Solubility
For solids and liquids, known as condensed phases, the pressure dependence of solubility is typically weak and is usually neglected in practice. However, the solubility of gases shows significant variability based on pressure. Typically, a gas will increase in solubility with an increase in pressure. This effect can be mathematically described using an equation called Henry’s law.
Henry’s Law
When a gas is dissolved in a liquid, pressure has an important effect on the solubility. William Henry, an English chemist, showed that the solubility of a gas increased with increasing pressure. He discovered the following relationship:
C = k ∗ P gas
In this equation, C is the concentration of the gas in solution, which is a measure of its solubility, k is a proportionality constant that has been experimentally determined, and Pgas is the partial pressure of the gas above the solution. The proportionality constant needs to be experimentally determined because the increase in solubility will depend on which kind of gas is being dissolved.