Depression of freezing point (cryoscopy)
freezing point - The temperature at which vapour pressure of the substance in its liquid phase is equal to its vapour pressure in the solid phase . i.e. the solid & the liquid form of substance have the same vapour pressure .
- a solution will freeze when its vapour pressure becomes equal to the various pressure of the pure solid solvent.
- it is observed that freezing point of solution is always lower than that of pure solvent. The decrease in freezing print is called depression of freezing point. Because lower the temperature ,lower is the vapour pressure
- Vapour pressure of solvent decreases with mixing non-volatile solute in it. Since non-volatile occupy the surface of it.
Alternatively, the depression of freezing point may be explained on the basis of plots of Vapour pressure versus temperature. Vapour pressure of solution and solvent increases with the increases of temperature while decreases on decreasing temperature.
let us consider T°f as freezing point of pure solvent & Tf as freezing point of solution.
Thus depression in freezing point is ΔTf = Tf - T°f …..............(1) Experimentally, depression of freezing point for dilute solution is directionally proportional to molal concentration to solution . it may be exressed as
ΔTf α m …...............(2)
ΔTf = Kf m --------------(3)
(here m= molality = w2 x 1000 /M2 x w1 , w2 = mass of solute
ΔTf = Kf x w2 x 1000 /M2 x w1 …. (4) M2 = molar mass of solute w1 = mass of solvent
So M2 = Kf x w2 x 1000 / ΔTf x w1 …..(5) this equation is used to calculate molar mass of solute dissolved in solution.
Kf is molal depression constant or cryoscopy constant which depends upon the nature of solvent. The relationship between Kf and fusion of enthalpy may be given as -
Kf = R X M1 X (T°f)2 / 1000 X ΔfusionH …...... (5)
some important problems-