Please correct my understanding if I'm wrong: in, say, a weak base reaction like NH3 + H20 ⇌ NH4+ + OH-, there are still H30 molecules in the reaction (to maintain autoprotolysis equilibrium Kw), but H30 is just not explicitly written.
Am I correct?
Reasoning: we can always calculate the pH from the pOH value of that reaction so there should be some H30 concentration?
pH and pOH in Reactions
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Re: pH and pOH in Reactions
There is no hydronium in the equation due to the fact that water is acting as an acid. Instead of gaining a proton to become H3O+, it transfers one to NH3 to become OH-.
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Re: pH and pOH in Reactions
Since the solvent here is water, there will be H3O+ due to the autoprotolysis of water.
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Re: pH and pOH in Reactions
In the equation ammonia is the base and water is the acid. When they react, only hydroxide will be sufficiently prevalent and the conjugate acid, ammonium, will be produced. This reaction further requires the use of a Kb to determine the equilibrium concentrations.
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