Is #"NH"_4^(+)# an acid or a base?

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Is #"NH"_4^(+)# an acid or a base?

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Answer 1 · 2015-11-25T03:24:30

More often than not, an acid. It donates a proton by accepting two electrons. For instance:

#"NH"_4^(+)(aq) + "H"_2"O"(l) rightleftharpoons "NH"_3(aq) + "H"_3"O"^(+)(aq)#

Here:

Ammonium is the acid, donating the proton to water (Bronsted-Lowry definition) by accepting two electrons (Lewis definition) from water's oxygen.

Water is the base, donating two electrons (Lewis definition) from oxygen to accept one proton (Bronsted-Lowry definition) from ammonium.

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Is #"NH"_4^(+)# an acid or a base?

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