Acid-free paper durable acid-free paper. Archival paper is meant to be used for publications of high legal, historical, or significant value. In the USA, such paper must also be approved in accordance with the ANSI standards. The international standard for "permanent" paper is ISO 9706 and for "archival" paper, the standard is ISO 11108. Often, cotton rag paper is used for archival purposes, as it is not made from wood-based pulp. Thus, "archival paper" is sometimes broken down into two categories: Acid-free paper Acid-free paper is paper that if infused in water yields a neutral or basic pH (7 or slightly greater).
Acid dissociation constant the added complication that the neutral molecule is subject to an internal acid–base equilibrium in which the basic amino group attracts and binds the proton from the acidic carboxyl group, forming a zwitterion. At pH less than about 5 both the carboxylate group and the amino group are protonated. As pH increases the acid dissociates according to At high pH a second dissociation may take place. Thus the zwitterion, , is amphoteric because it may either be protonated or deprotonated. The equilibrium constant "K" for a base is usually defined as the "association" constant for protonation of the base, B,