With respect to acids, what do we mean by #"ionization"#?

1 Answer
anor277
Dec 18, 2016

Consider the ionization of hydrochloric acid:

#HCl(aq) + H_2O(l) rightleftharpoons H_3O^(+) + Cl^-#

Explanation:

The charge separation that the acid undergoes upon protonolysis, i.e. its donation of a proton to the solvent molecule, is the so-called #"ionization."#

For stronger acids, ionization (and protonolysis) is almost complete, and the equilibrium lies strongly to the right.

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