What are hydronium and hydroxide ions?

1 Answer
anor277
Nov 20, 2015

Hydroxide #=# #OH^-#; hydronium ion is represented as #H^+# or #H_3O^+#.

Explanation:

The hydronium ion and the hydroxide are respectively the characteristic cation, and anion of water. The constitution of the hydronium ion is debatable. As far as anyone knows, it is 3 or 4 water molecules with an extra proton tacked on, say #(O_3H_7)^+#. It is simpler to represent the hydronium ion as #H_3O^+# or even as #H^+#. Can you quote the equilibrium reaction that governs formation of these ions in water?

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