Questions tagged [ions]
For questions about ions - atomic or molecular particles having a net electric charge. Do NOT use this tag just because your question involves ions but is not about the ions themselves (as in electrochemistry, etc.).
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Why doesn't H₄O²⁺ exist?
I know this question has been asked previously but I cannot find a satisfactory explanation as to why is it so difficult for $\ce{H4O^2+}$ to exist. There are explanations that it is so because of $+2$...
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Why is the vanadium(3+) ion paramagnetic?
I know that the electron configuration of vanadium is $[\ce{Ar}]\mathrm{4s^2 3d^3}$.
None of the electrons in the 3d subshell are paired. Once it loses these three electrons, shouldn't the remainder ...
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Why is silver chloride less soluble than silver nitrate?
Related: Reaction between silver nitrate and aluminum chloride
Experimentally, $\ce{AgCl}$ is insoluble in water, but $\ce{AgNO3}$ is soluble. They're pretty common in a lab (well, $\ce{AgCl}$ is a ...
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Bonding in the phosphate ion
I'm looking for an explanation of the bonding in the phosphate (PO43−) ion:
(Image courtesy of Wikipedia)
Phosphorus (15P) - being the fifteenth element - has fifteen electrons, five valence ...
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4
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How does NaCl maintain its crystalline structure?
My understanding is that $\mathrm{NaCl}$ is an ionic compound, in which $\mathrm{Cl}$ becomes (effectively) $\mathrm{Cl^-}$ and $\mathrm{Na}$ becomes $\mathrm{Na^+}$. So I understand why I would get a ...
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Will gaseous ionic compounds be free moving ions?
I knew while learning about electrolysis that if the ionic compound is molten it becomes free moving ions.
If that is the case, what will happen if I continued heating till it reaches the boiling ...
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What is the origin of the bactericidal properties of silver in water?
I often hear that water gets purified by being in a silver vessel, which sounds plausible because of bactericidal feature of silver. What doesn't sound plausible, though, is the way it's explained: ...
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Can metals have a net negative charge
Normal metals like sodium or Calcium have a positive charge as $\ce{Na}^+$ or $\ce{Ca}^{2+}$.
Transition metals have a loot of variable oxidation states.
Yesterday I read about Iridium in Wikipedia ...
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Why does salt dissolved in water taste like salt? If it's just Na+ and Cl- ions
When $\ce{NaCl}$ is dissolved into water it breaks down into $\ce{Na+}$ and $\ce{Cl-}$. It stays in this form until the water evaporates and then the ions go back to normal $\ce{NaCl}$. So why does ...
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How was it concluded that the H3O+ rather than H+ is the "acid" ion?
I suspect that initially, scientists believed that the acid ion was $\ce{H^+}$ since $\ce{H2}$ is released through electrolysis, right? But what experiment was done to change the standpoint to assume ...
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Do ligands with a positive charge exist?
Are there positively charged ligands which can bind to a central metal atom to form coordination compounds?
My thoughts:
I know that ligands are Lewis bases which donate a pair of electrons, and the ...
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Why is the magnesium(II) ion preferred over other ions in chlorophyll?
Chlorophyll has a $\ce{Mg^2+}$ ion. Why is it preferred over other ions? For example, what happens if there is $\ce{Zn^2+}$ or $\ce{Ca^2+}$ or any other (divalent) cation instead of $\ce{Mg^2+}$?
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Why are hydrogen ions always associated with another molecule?
I was reading N.C.E.R.T. class XI part 2 book and chapter Hydrogen,when I came across this statement:
Loss of the electron from hydrogen atom
results in nucleus ($\ce{H+}$) of ~1.510–3 pm size.
...
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Hydration of H⁺ ion
I know that $\ce{H+}$ is not possible in water and it is present as $\ce{H3O+}$. But later on I come to know that even $\ce{H3O+}$ is not possible and that it is present as $\ce{H9O4+}$.
Why does this ...
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Why is an ionic bond a chemical and not a physical bond?
Ionic bonds seem to be intermolecular but are classified as chemical bonds.
"Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bond that involves the electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions.&...
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Do atoms form either a positive or a negative charge, but not both?
I do not mean at the same time, of course, but I mean it appears from an overview of the common charges formed from ionizing various elements that each element forms one or more of either positive or ...
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Do non-classical carbanions exist?
There are some non-classical carbocations, such as the 2-norbornyl cation, in which the positive charge is heavily delocalised. Have non-classical carbanions also been discovered? I have not seen any ...
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How should the hydrated proton be represented in chemical equations?
I learned the equation
$$\ce{H2O + H+ -> H3O+}$$
And I know $\ce{H+}$ and $\ce{H3O+}$ really mean the same thing. But I am confused as to when I should use $\ce{H+}$ and when I should use $\ce{...
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Does the term 'Cation' always refer to a positively charged particle?
From what I was taught in middle school, cations are those ions that move towards the cathode, likewise anions are those ions which move towards the anode.
I didn't have issues with this back then, ...
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How does conductivity work for non-redoxed ions?
Related (very similar, but here I want a mechanism) https://physics.stackexchange.com/q/21827/7433
By the Kohlrausch law, all ions contribute to the conductivity of an electrolyte.
Now, as I ...
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Why does mercury form polycations?
For example, mercury (I) is $\ce{Hg2^2+}$ and not $\ce{Hg+}$. What causes the stability in covalently bonded $\ce{Hg}$ ions?
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Can you in reality give neon a charge of +8?
First off, I am currently confused about why neon can even be ionized at all. But since it can be ionized, this is the energy required to give a mole of neon a charge of +8: ...
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Flame test: Is the metal atom or the metal ion responsible for the flame colour?
A sample of $\ce{CaCl2}$ is placed in the flame of a Bunsen burner. The component of the substance which is responsible for the production of the flame colour is:
$\ce{Ca^2+}$
$\ce{Ca}$
$\ce{Cl-}$
$\...
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Is there a preferred way of naming the resonance hybrid in keto-enol tautomerism?
While answering a question about keto-enol tautomerism the question arose, how can I refer to the resonance hybrid instead of on of the resonance forms. In the case of the deprotonated butane-2-one, I ...
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Can I test for lead with household chemicals?
I picked up a metal fence loop cap today and took it home just because I liked the shape.
(^ not mine)
I cleaned it, but some of the paint is chipping off. I'm only vaguely thinking about lead, and I'...
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Why the salts in a salt bridge?
Take the example of a copper and zinc galvanic cell, connected by a salt bridge of $\ce{KNO3}$. I understand how the reactions will result in positive and negative charges, and that the ions of the ...
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Negative ions and health: pseudo science or something more?
Over the last year or so I've heard from friends, who subscribe to holistic medicine, talk about negative ions, saying that they are good for your mental/physical health. Being the only one among them ...
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Can glass be deionized?
Is there a chemical treatment that could remove sodium and calcium ions from the surface of soda-lime glass to turn it into quartz glass, increasing the hardness?
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Can H4O 2+ form?
Like $\ce{NH4+}$ ,Is there any possibility of formation of $\ce{H4O^{2+}}$ (of tetrahedral structure)?
My theory is: it can be formed by osmosis setup where heavy acids like $\ce{H3PO4}$ or $\ce{...
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What are the products of the dissociation of sodium bicarbonate in water? What is the relative pH of the solution?
I had a recent question on a test that asked what the products would be if sodium hydrogen carbonate were dissolved in water. I had a few candidate answers
$\displaystyle\ce{NaHCO3 -> Na+ + HCO3-}$...
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Strongest negative inductive effect group between trimethylammonium, ammonium and dimethylsulfonium groups
Which of the following group exerts the strongest -I effect?
$\ce{-N(CH3)3+}$
$\ce{-NH3+}$
$\ce{-S(CH3)2+}$
$\ce{-F}$
My idea is that positive species exerts more -I effect than ...
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Conducting current in electrolytes
I keep trying to figure out how current is conducted through an electrolyte but all I can find are BS half answers. They say the ions conduct, but the specifics are poorly explained or absent. I ...
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Is an ionic bond more like a covalent bond or an intermolecular force?
I have asked a question loosely asking this, where I confused terms and did not specify what I wanted to know here, so I formed a new question.
What are the differences and similarities between ionic ...
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Why is 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI-BF4) often considered a prototypical room temperature ionic liquid?
It seems from a brief search of the literature that 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate (EMI-BF4) is a prototypical room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL) that has been studied extensively. ...
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Differentiation between zinc, aluminium, and magnesium ions in solution
If I have three aqueous ionic solutions in which I know that the cation is $\ce{Al^3+}$, $\ce{Mg^2+}$, or $\ce{Zn^2+}$, how do I find out which is which?
I was thinking to add $\ce{OH-}$ in the form ...
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How does aluminium react with bases to form aluminates?
An example of reaction:
$$\ce{2Al + 2KOH + 6H2O->2 K[Al(OH)4] + 3H2 ^}$$
Aluminium is not ionic, how then does it attract the $\ce{OH-}$ groups to bond with them into the complex ion $\ce{[Al(OH)...
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Why does water weaken ion ion attractions?
My lecturer has told me that water, having a high dielectric value, will "shield" ions and reduce ion-ion attractions.
I really don't see why. Having water molecules surround these two ions ...
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Why are there drastic changes sometimes in radius of isoelectronic ions?
$\ce{S^{2-}}$, $\ce{Cl-}$, $\ce{K+}$, and $\ce{Ca^{2+}}$ each have the same number of electrons. Their effective ionic radii are 182, 181, 138, and 100 picometers, respectively, and the number of ...
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Why does the ionic product of water remain constant after addition of non-neutral solute?
In my textbook, it is given that the ionic product of water $K_\mathrm{w}$ remains constant even when a non-neutral solute such as an acid is added to it.
$$K_\mathrm{w} = \ce{[H3O+][OH-]}$$
When a ...
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Explaining Ionization to kids
I have a quest to explain a physical, chemical theory to kids of age 8-12.
The topic is "Ionization". We all understand from early experiments of Physics and Chemistry (the Millikan oil drop ...
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Why are protons more common than hydride ion?
I'm a high school student. I noticed $\ce{H+}$ ion is commonly present in my books while I didn't find any presence of $\ce{H-}$ ions in my books. However, I found on internet that $\ce{H-}$ also ...
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Is there an easy way to remember charges on ions?
I have a chemistry test coming up and I might need to know the charge that goes with the different ions like $\ce{SO4}$ has $-2$, $\ce{NO2}$ is $-1$ and $\ce{PO4}$ is $-3$. Is there an easy way to ...
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What is the IUPAC nomenclature for the cyclic mono-alkene ions formed after proton or hydride abstraction?
In this blog post, Steven Bachrach discusses the (anti-)aromaticity or lack thereof in the homologous series of anionic and cationic cyclic mono-alkenes formed respectively by deprotonation and ...
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Why quaternary nitrogen but not tertiary oxygen?
Why do quaternary ammonium ions with a partially positive nitrogen form fairly readily and are often stable but tertiary oxygens, apparently called oxonium ions, are more rare/less stable? The trend ...
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Could the difference between absorption time of Diclofenac Sodium and Diclofenac Potassium be related to the cation?
Diclofenac is a common non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID) that comes in a variety of formulations. Two of the most common forms are diclofenac sodium and diclofenac potassium (the links ...
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Why is there a comparative lack of variety in positive counterions in drugs?
Pharmaceutical salts are important in the process of drug development. Using different chemical species to neutralise the parent drug can produce a diverse series of compounds, and this process is ...
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Why are bromine oxyanions uncommon?
Sodium hypochlorite is used in bleach, calcium hypochlorite is used in public swimming pools, ammonium perchlorate is used in solid rocket fuel.
Sodium periodate is used in the cleaving of syn-...
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What kind of 'product' is the 'product' in 'ionic product of water'?
My language has different words for product (=the result of a process) and product (=the sum of multiplied quantities), so I need to know the right meaning to choose the right word.
Which of the ...
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Is the atom the smallest particle, which takes part in chemical reactions?
According to modern atomic theory, the atom is the smallest particle which can take part in a chemical reaction. But during the formation of hydronium ion, $\ce{H+}$ ion reacts with $\ce{H2O}$ to form ...
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Do quaternary sulfur dications exist?
We know that sulfur can form sulfides $\ce{R2S}$, with two substituents bonded to it. The simplest example of this would be hydrogen sulfide.
However, sulfur can also form sulfonium ions $\ce{R3S+}$,...
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