QUANTITATIVE SPECTRAL-ANALYSIS OF MULTICOMPONENT EQUILIBRIA

A generalization is presented of a method for the determination of equ ilibrium constants for binary mixtures. It is shown that titrations in volving several components can be quantitatively characterized in term s of component concentrations and spectral responses, even when none o f the component spectra is known and the components cannot be obtained in pure form. The method is efficient even if the component spectra o verlap extensively. It is applicable to all spectroscopic techniques t hat provide a linear response, opening up new possibilities to analyze complex chemical systems. The approach is illustrated by determining the absorption spectra and protolytic constants for the fluorescein pr otolytic equilibria.