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

1 Answer
Dec 20, 2014

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.

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