Indicator:

Indicators are substances whose solutions change color due to changes in pH. These are
called acid-base indicators. They are usually weak acids or bases, but their conjugate base
or acid forms have different colors due to differences in their absorption spectra.
OR
An indicator is a substance that will change color in acid or alkaline solution.
OR
Indicators indicate the acidic and basic nature of compounds.

Role of Indicator:
An indicator in a titration plays a key role by detecting the end point. The indicator shows a
different and distinct color change at the point of addition of excess of drop of reagent from
burette. It works accurately on some conditions such as pH., medium (acidic or alkaline)
and on potentials.

Types of Indicators:

:Methyl orange .I
Methyl orange is a pH indicator frequently used in titrations because of its clear and distinct
color change. Because it changes color at the pH of a mid-strength acid, it is usually used in
titrations for acids. Methyl orange shows red color in acidic medium and yellow color in
basic medium.

:Formula
C14H14N3NaO3S.
pH range
3.2-4.4

:Phenolphthalein .II
Phenolphthalein is often used as an indicator in acidbase titrations. For this application, it
turns colorless in acidic solutions and pink in basic solutions. It is often written as "HIn" or
"phph" in shorthand notation. Phenolphthalein is slightly soluble in water and usually is
dissolved in alcohols for use in experiments. It is a weak acid, which can lose H+ ions in
solution. The phenolphthalein molecule is colorless, and the phenolphthalein ion is pink.

:Use
Phenolphthalein's common use is as an indicator in acid-base titrations. It also serves as a
component of universal indicator, together with methyl red, bromothymol blue, and thymol
blue.

:Formula

C20H14O4.
pH range
8.2-10

:Litmus .III
Litmus is a water soluble mixture of different dyes extracted from lichens.

:Use
The main use of litmus is to test whether a solution is acidic or basic. Wet litmus paper can
also be used to test for water-soluble gases that affect acidity or alkalinity, the gas dissolves
in the water and the resulting solution colors the litmus paper. For instance, ammonia gas,
which is alkaline, colors the red litmus paper blue.
pH range
85

:Bromothymol blue .IV

Bromothymol blue (also known as bromothymol sulfone phthalein and BTB) is a pH
indicator. It is mostly used in applications that require measuring substances that would
have a relatively neutral pH (near 7). A common use is for measuring the presence
of carbonic acid in a liquid. It is typically sold in solid form as the sodium salt of the acid
indicator. Bromothymol blue acts as a weak acid in solution
pH range
7.6 6

:Universal Indicators

.V

A universal indicator is a pH indicator composed of a solution of several compounds that

exhibits several smooth color changes over a pH value range from 1 to 14 to indicate
the acidity or alkalinity of solutions. A universal indicator is collectively a mixture of
indicators which show a color change in a solution, which interprets how acidic or basic a
solution is. A universal indicator can be in paper form or present in a form of a solution

pH range
14 1
:Bromocresol green .VI

Bromocresol
green (BCG)
is
a
dye
of
the triphenylmethane family
(triarylmethane dyes). It is used as a pH indicator in applications such as growth
mediums for microorganisms and titrations. In aqueous solution, bromocresol
green will ionize to give the monoanionic form (yellow), that further
deprotonates at higher pH to give the dianionic form (blue), which is stabilized
by resonance.

:Use
It is used as a pH indicator and as a tracking dye for DNA agarose gel
electrophoresis. It can be used in its free acid form (light brown solid), or as
sodium salt (dark green solid).

pH ranges of some Indicators

Name

Acid Color

pH Range of
Color Change

Base Color

Methyl violet

Yellow

0.0 - 1.6

Blue

Thymol blue

Red

1.2 - 2.8

Yellow

Methyl orange

Red

3.2 - 4.4

Yellow

Bromocresol green

Yellow

3.8 - 5.4

Blue

Methyl red

Red

4.8 - 6.0

Yellow

Litmus

Red

5.0 - 8.0

Blue

Bromothymol blue

Yellow

6.0 - 7.6

Blue

Thymol blue

Yellow

8.0 - 9.6

Blue

Phenolphthalein

Colorless

8.2 - 10.0

Pink

Thymolphthalein

Colorless

9.4 - 10.6

Blue

Alizarin yellow R

Yellow

10.1 - 12.0

Red