Determination of the ionization constants of weak electrolytes by capillary zone electrophoresis

Capillary zone electrophoresis in untreated fused silica capillaries has proved suitable for the determination of the ionization constants of weak electrolytes. Several fundamental equations relating the electrophoretic mobilities of ionized solutes to hydronium ion concentrations in the running electrolyte have been verified experimentally. The observed dependence of the electrophoretic mobilities of weak bases and ampholytes on the pH of the electrolyte showed good agreement with predicted behavior. The pK_a values calculated from electrophoretic mobility data obtained by capillary zone electrophoresis were reasonably close to those reported in the literature.