It is a term of Physical Chemistry and represented by 'I'. The symbol 'I' represents the number of moles of solute that is actually in solution per mole of solid solute that was added. It also represents the ratio of true molecular mass that is divided by calculated molecular methods by colligative methods. The term is named after Jacobus Henricus van't Hoff and it was he who won the first Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
The importance of this factor can be seen in quantitative analysis of colligative properties that include vapor pressure and freezing point depression.
One of the examples where Van't Hoff factor can find illustration is as follows:
We can calculate the 'I' of Sulfuric acid solution, 64% of the molecules of which are ionized by this method- I =1+(0.64) (3-1) = 2.28, and each of the molecules results in one sulfate ion and also two hydronium ions.
The importance of this factor can be seen in quantitative analysis of colligative properties that include vapor pressure and freezing point depression.
One of the examples where Van't Hoff factor can find illustration is as follows:
We can calculate the 'I' of Sulfuric acid solution, 64% of the molecules of which are ionized by this method- I =1+(0.64) (3-1) = 2.28, and each of the molecules results in one sulfate ion and also two hydronium ions.
