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Why is H+ sometimes written as H3O+ in equations?
- Why are neutralization reactions written with H3O+ instead of H+?
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If a free hydrogen ion encounters a water molecule, it attacks the unshared electron pairs on the oxygen in the water molecule and
forms a hydronium ion, H3O+. The chemical bond that forms between the water and hydrogen ion is covalent and very strong. In an
aqueous solution, essentially all of the H+ exists as H3O+.
When people write "H+(aq)" in a chemical equation, it's understood that they really mean "H3O+(aq)". Writing hydrogen ions rather
than hydronium ions makes neutralization equations a little easier to read and balance.
Author: Fred Senese senese@antoine.frostburg.edu |