Buffer (chemistry)

Buffer (chemistry), in chemistry, solution containing substances that inhibit the solution's change in pH, or hydrogen-ion concentration. Such substances consist either of the pairing of a weak acid and a related salt of the acid, or of the similar pairing of a weak base and a salt of the base. Fluids in living organisms are strongly buffered, and sea water and soil substances are other examples found in nature. Buffers are used in chemistry and serve as references in the measurement of pH.