Question

If you wish to extract aqueous acetic acid into hexane, is it more effective to adjust the aqueous phase to or ?

Short answer

When the $pH$ is adjusted to $8$, it becomes a basic solution and acetic acid would be in its anionic form.

Step-by-step solution

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Let us determine whether it is more effective to adjust the aqueous phase to $pH3$or$\mathrm{pH}8$ if we intend to extract aqueous acetic acid into hexane.

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Now, let us adjust the aqueous phase to $\mathrm{pH}=3$

• The acetic acid has a low localid="1654834546504" $pH,$and as we said before - similar dissolves in similar
• When the $\mathrm{pH}$ gets adjusted to $8$, this would be a basic solution and acetic acid would be in its anionic form.
• It is to be noted that we didn’t want an anion, but the acid in its original form.
• Result :
  When we extract aqueous acetic acid into hexane and$pH$ is adjusted to $8$, it becomes a basic solution and acetic acid would be in its anionic form.