The Claim

Citric acid undergoes three dissociation steps in aqueous solution with protonation constants pKa = 3.2, 4.6, and 5.6, indicating sequential deprotonation behavior under controlled experimental conditions.

Source: Potentiometric Studies of the pH Effect on the Coordination Behavior of Citric Acid Complexes with Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in Heterobimetallic Complexes

What the research says

Roughly balanced

Support and challenge are close. The picture may shift as more studies come in.

Supports
3score
Challenges
0score

These are independent scores, not a percentage. Higher-grade studies count more, so a single strong opposing study can outweigh several weaker ones.

Description
1 study reviewed
In plain English

Citric acid, like in lemons, loses parts of itself in water in three steps, and scientists measured how easily each step happens with numbers called pKa values.

See the scientific wording

Citric acid undergoes three dissociation steps in aqueous solution with protonation constants pKa = 3.2, 4.6, and 5.6, indicating sequential deprotonation behavior under controlled experimental conditions.

What the research says

1 study

  1. Study: Potentiometric Studies of the pH Effect on the Coordination Behavior of Citric Acid Complexes with Cu²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in Heterobimetallic Complexes

    The study tested exactly what the claim said about citric acid losing protons in water and found the same three steps with matching numbers, so it supports the claim.

Score breakdown, mechanism chain, raw evidence, ideal studies needed & 1 supporting studies

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