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Title: If I had a polyprotic acid like H3PO4, how would the second proton dissociation even occur after the first? Post by: askaquestion on Apr 15, 2013 If I had a polyprotic acid like H3PO4, how would the second proton dissociation even occur given that the first dissociation has already released so many protons? After all, the H+ concentration is already so high after the first proton dissociation--wouldn't this actually prevent more H+ from being produced?
Title: If I had a polyprotic acid like H3PO4, how would the second proton dissociation even occur after the first? Post by: fighton55 on Apr 15, 2013 The second ionization is indeed suppressed, but H2PO4- is still a fairly strong acid (pKa(2) = 7.2), and the dissociation is still favored, albeit to a lesser extent than the first ionization.
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