Question

Is the following acid-base reaction Arrhenius, Bronsted-Lowry, or Lewis: Ag+ + 2 NH3 --> Ag(NH3)2+

Answer 1

This reaction is a Lewis acid-base reaction and it represents the formation of the diammine silver (I) complex ion.

According to the definition, a Lewis base is a substance that donates electrons and a Lewis acid is a substance that accepts electrons. In this case, the metal cation (`Ag^+`) will act as a Lewis acid by accepting `NH_3`'s lone pair of electrons, thus making `NH_3` a Lewis base. Metal cations have two features that make them good Lewis acids:

1. Their positive charge attracts electrons;
2. They have at least one orbital that can accomodate an electron pair.