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The Henderson–Hasselbalch equation can be used to model these equilibria. It is important to maintain this pH of 7.4 to ensure enzymes are able to work optimally. [10] Life threatening Acidosis (a low blood pH resulting in nausea, headaches, and even coma, and convulsions) is due to a lack of functioning of enzymes at a low pH. [10]
The self-ionization of water (also autoionization of water, autoprotolysis of water, autodissociation of water, or simply dissociation of water) is an ionization reaction in pure water or in an aqueous solution, in which a water molecule, H 2 O, deprotonates (loses the nucleus of one of its hydrogen atoms) to become a hydroxide ion, OH −.
The water molecule is amphoteric in aqueous solution. It can either gain a proton to form a hydronium ion H 3 O +, or else lose a proton to form a hydroxide ion OH −. [5] Another possibility is the molecular autoionization reaction between two water molecules, in which one water molecule acts as an acid and another as a base.
When an acid is dissolved in water, the pH will be less than 7, while a base, or alkali, will have a pH greater than 7. A strong acid, such as hydrochloric acid , at concentration 1 mol dm −3 has a pH of 0, while a strong alkali like sodium hydroxide , at the same concentration, has a pH of 14.
Thus, the ammonium ion, NH + 4, in liquid ammonia corresponds to the hydronium ion in water and the amide ion, NH − 2 in ammonia, to the hydroxide ion in water. Ammonium salts behave as acids, and metal amides behave as bases. [10] Some non-aqueous solvents can behave as bases, i.e. accept protons, in relation to Brønsted–Lowry acids.
An example is the H 2 O (water) molecule, which can gain a proton to form the hydronium ion, H 3 O +, or lose a proton, leaving the hydroxide ion, OH −. The relative ability of a molecule to give up a proton is measured by its pK a value. A low pK a value indicates that the compound is acidic and will easily give up its proton to a base.
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In chemistry, hydronium (hydroxonium in traditional British English) is the cation [H 3 O] +, also written as H 3 O +, the type of oxonium ion produced by protonation of water.It is often viewed as the positive ion present when an Arrhenius acid is dissolved in water, as Arrhenius acid molecules in solution give up a proton (a positive hydrogen ion, H +) to the surrounding water molecules (H 2 O).