Percent Protonation Vs. Percent Deprotonation

[Elise Tsai 3I]

Hi!! I had a super quick question about what the difference between percent protonation and percent deprotonation is. When are each supposed to be used? Do the semantics of it change what we're calculating for? I feel like I see them being used interchangeably. Thanks!!

[Sammy_Alomar_3L]

Percent protonation is the percent of the specific reactant that is gains a positive charge, while percent deprotonation is the same, but the molecule gains a -1 charge, or loses 1 proton. I think for most problems, you can only calculate one or the other based on the formulas and other factors since they are calculated basically the same way.

[Alex Lee 1L]

I believe they are relatively the same, percent protonation just refers to the acid form and percent deprotonation refers to the basic form.

[Anthony Lau-Xiao 1E]

Also adding on, when protonation happens, adding a hydrogen proton (H+), a conjugate acid is formed, gaining a positive charge. Deprotonation is when a proton is removed or transferred and forms the conjugate base of that acid, gaining a negative charge.

[Skylar Tanartkit 3D]

I think percent protonation refers to the amount of the base that has reacted to form the conjugate acid (adding a proton) versus percent protonation refers to the opposite, the amount of an acid that has lost a proton to form the conjugate base. Depending on what the substance the question gives you, you would use protonation for a base and deprotonation for an acid. They are essentially the same calculation which is final concentration the conjugate over the initial of the original.

[Daniel Nguyen 2L]

Percent protonation is the fraction of a substance that accepts an H+, becoming a positive ion, while percent deprotonation is the fraction of a substance that donates an H+, becoming a negative ion. I don't think they should be used interchangeably but the calculation to determine your concentrations is exactly the same.