The thermodynamic pK value of picric acid was determined spectrophotometrically in water containing hydrochloric acid to repress the ionization. The pK value 0.33 (K ≈ 0.46) was obtained from data at 450 mμ. Attempts to determine the pK value by potentiometric titrations of picric acid and by spectrophotometric measurements of picric acid solutions in the near-saturation range did not yield satisfactory results. The new pK value is compared with previously published values.
Experimental data are presented at closely spaced intervals of temperature and density. The range of experimental densities is from 0.064 to 2.8 times the critical density. There are presented, in addition, tables interpolated uniformly in arguments density and temperature, and also in pressure and temperature.