Questions tagged [acid-base]

This tag should be applied to questions concerning acid and base reactions. An acid is capable of donating a hydron/ proton (Brønsted acid) or capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair (Lewis acid). A base on the other hand is a chemical species/ molecular entity having an available pair of electrons capable of forming a covalent bond with a hydron/ proton (Brønsted base) or with the vacant orbital of some other species (Lewis base).

This tag should be applied to questions concerning acid and base reactions.

According to the IUPAC goldbook, an acid is a molecular entity or chemical species capable of donating a hydron (proton) (Brønsted acid) or capable of forming a covalent bond with an electron pair (Lewis acid).

Brønsted acid (source)
A molecular entity capable of donating a hydron (proton) to a base, (i.e. a 'hydron donor') or the corresponding chemical species. For example: $\ce{H2O, H3O+, CH3CO2H, H2SO4, HSO4^{−}, HCl, CH3OH, NH3}$ .

Lewis acid (source)
A molecular entity (and the corresponding chemical species) that is an electron-pair acceptor and therefore able to react with a Lewis base to form a Lewis adduct, by sharing the electron pair furnished by the Lewis base. For example:
$\ce{\underset{Lewis~acid}{(H3C)3B} + \underset{Lewis~base}{:NH3} -> \underset{Lewis~adduct}{(H3C)3\overset{\small{~~\ominus}}{B}-\overset{\small{\oplus}}{N}H3}}$

In conjunction to this, the definition of a base is a chemical species or molecular entity having an available pair of electrons capable of forming a covalent bond with a hydron (proton) (Brønsted base) or with the vacant orbital of some other species (Lewis base).

Brønsted base (source)
A molecular entity capable of accepting a hydron (proton) from an acid (i.e. a 'hydron acceptor') or the corresponding chemical species. For example: $\ce{{}^{-}OH, H2O, CH3CO2^{−}, HSO4^{−}, SO4^{2−}, Cl^{−}}$.

Lewis base (source)
A molecular entity (and the corresponding chemical species) able to provide a pair of electrons and thus capable of coordination to a Lewis acid, thereby producing a Lewis adduct.

The two kinds of molecules or chemical species are closely related as they form so called conjugated acid-base pairs in the Brønsted sense, or as mentioned previously, as a Lewis adduct in the alternative Description.

conjugate acid–base pair
The Brønsted acid $\ce{BH+}$ formed on protonation of a base $\ce{B}$ is called the conjugate acid of $\ce{B}$, and $\ce{B}$ is the conjugate base of $\ce{BH+}$. (The conjugate acid always carries one unit of positive charge more than the base, but the absolute charges of the species are immaterial to the definition.) For example: the Brønsted acid $\ce{HCl}$ and its conjugate base $\ce{Cl^{−}}$ constitute a conjugate acid–base pair.

The reactivity of acids and bases is dependent on the $\mathrm{p}\ce{H}$ of a solution and as a consequence, every reaction of acids and bases will change this property of a solution.

In aqueous solution at $T = 25~^\circ\mathrm{C}$, acids usually have a $\mathrm{p}\ce{H}$ less than 7 and bases have a $\mathrm{p}\ce{H}$ greater than 7, this is because the neutrality of an aqueous solution is determined or governed by the autoprotolysis of water. $$\ce{2H2O <=> H3+O + {}^{-}OH}$$ Therefore neutrality of a solution is achieved when the activities of hydronium and hydroxide ions are equal, $$a(\ce{H3+O})=a(\ce{{}^{-}OH}),$$ or in simpler terms, when the concentrations of hydronium and hydroxide ions are equal, i.e. $$[\ce{H3+O}]=[\ce{{}^{-}OH}].$$

Due to this nature these questions are usually related to and/or .

A fairly good answer, that covers acids and bases in general can be found in this question.

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What is the strongest acid?

According to Wikipedia, $\ce{HeH+}$ and fluoroantimonic acid are the strongest. According to a News article in Nature, Carborane acid is the strongest, but Wikipedia says fluoroantimonic acid is stronger. Links: $\ce{HeH+}$ / Wikipedia - stating…
NeilRoy
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Is the proton the strongest acid?

Having looked at the various definitions of acids and bases and having refined my understanding of it after learning about the inadequacies of pKa and the novel use of the Hammett acidity function, I would like to ask if the bare proton is the…
Tan Yong Boon
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Is sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid stronger?

Of my belief, sulfuric acid might be a little stronger than hydrochloric acid. Because even though they both are strong acids, one mole of sulfuric acid produces two times as much $\ce{H+}$ as one mole of hydrochloric acid. Am I wrong?
most venerable sir
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Why is ammonia so much more basic than water?

The only reason I can think of is that the lone pairs in the oxygen in water are in lower energy orbital relative to the nitrogen in ammonia due to increased effective nuclear charge in oxygen. However, as far as I am aware, ammonia is SIGNIFICANTLY…
RobChem
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Why can the acidic strength between H2S and HCl be explained on the basis of electronegativity but H2S and H2O can't?

Consider simply aqueous solutions of $\ce{H2S}$ and $\ce{HCl}$ . It is pretty much known that $\ce{HCl}$ is stronger than $\ce{H2S}$ in water. The reason behind that first is the electronegativity of $\ce{Cl}$ is higher than $\ce{S}$, so, in a…
Soumik Das
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Why do strong acids have weak conjugate bases?

This question is based on the Brønsted-Lowry model. I saw many answers to similar questions online. However none of them have given a detailed answer that is based on molecular structure (the answers all told the OP to rely on a reference table for…
most venerable sir
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Safe disposal of hydrochloric acid

We recently bought a home and found about 2 litres of hydrochloric acid 20% (also known as muriatic acid) that was used to manage acidity in a swimming pool that no longer exists. I would like to dispose of it but our local recycling centre is…
PC1
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Why do strong acid-weak base reactions "essentially go to completion"?

This is what my textbook says. I understand that the strong acid would readily donate a hydrogen ion, but I can't see how all the weak base will readily accept it (at least not to "essential completion").
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Is ammonium a strong or weak conjugate acid?

Ammonium, $\ce{NH_4^+}$, is the conjugate acid of ammonia, $\ce{NH_3}$. I have searched the Internet and so many different answers pop up. The rule of thumb that I read was that a strong acid has a weak conjugate counterpart. For example, a strong…
phi2k
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Can someone please explain buffers to me?

This is what I understand so far: The concept of a buffer is to minimize any swings in pH. In order to do this you need to create a solution with both acidic and basic compounds. To create one, you start with an acid: $\ce{HA + H2O -> A- +…
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Why will CuSO4 solution be acidic?

An end-chapter problem posed in an 11-grade texbook asks to analyse whether a water solution of CuSO4 will be acidic. The standard answer is yes, because "$\ce{H2SO4}$ is a strong acid, hence $\ce{SO_4^2-}$ is a weak base. As a weak base, it will…
CowperKettle
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Is Saliva an acid or base?

I have a debate with some friends who believe that saliva is just basic, but with the enzymes which make them reactive with objects in our mouth, shouldn't it be an acid in this case?
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Why does ammonia accept a hydrogen to form ammonium when its octet is already complete?

Why does ammonia accept a hydrogen to form ammonium when its octet is already complete as $\ce{NH3}$ and it should be, seemingly, stable as $\ce{NH3}$?
Mary
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Can any compound be a Lewis acid but not be a Brønsted acid?

Is it possible for a compound to act as a Lewis acid but NOT act as a Brønsted acid? When would this happen? Could you please give a few examples where/why this happens ?
devb
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Why are acids corrosive?

I'm in the second year of my biochem major, taking organic chemistry, and I feel like I've learned a lot about acids. The most popularly recognizable property of acids is their corrosive power. There are pop-culture depictions of acids everywhere,…
Raiden Worley
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