What is the overall charge of an ionic material?

1 Answer
anor277
Jan 27, 2017

The overall charge is of course neutral..........

Explanation:

Most matter is neutral, and ionic compounds share this neutrality.

In an ionic species, the negative charge of the anions is balanced by the positive charge of cations. Consider some common ionic species, #Na_2SO_4#, #LiOH#, #LiClO_4#. The charge on the anion is balanced by the charges on and numbers of the cation.

Of course, in solution, these species might ionize to give solvated ions. The charge is still neutral overall.

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