07Nov 2014 by Vincent Summers 4 Comments

What is a Hydronium Ion?

Chemistry
What is a hydronium ion? Water... Is there a more important or abundant liquid on the face of the earth? It possesses an amazing number of properties. It is essential to our very existence. Water is one of an extremely small number of substances (liquid ammonia is another) that expands and becomes lighter on freezing. Ice floats and forms an insulating, protective crust over underlying water. If ice sank rather and didn't float instead, the ponds and lakes of earth would completely freeze. All living things would die. Structure & Electrical Properties of Water Water's chemical formula is H2O. Occasionally it is written HOH or H–O–H. This way of writing the structure is convenient as long as one is aware of the shortcomings. Water is not a linear molecule. It…
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19Mar 2014 by Vincent Summers 2 Comments

Alcohol Protonation: Synthesis Intermediate

Chemistry
[caption id="attachment_20866" align="alignright" width="440"] Primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols.[/caption] What is alcohol protonation? An alcohol is an organic compound. Some examples are ethanol (ethyl alcohol), isopropyl alcohol, and t-butyl alcohol. They have the generic chemical formula ROH. H is hydrogen, O is oxygen, and R is any aliphatic (carbon chain) group. Alcohols are important organic synthetic reagents. During a reaction process, alcohols may be protonated by mineral acids.¹ Alcohol protonation is the adding of a proton. Ethanol, for instance, protonates accordingly, C₂H₅-OH + H⁺ → C₂H₅-OH₂⁺ Notice from the protonated structure that the final three atoms closely resemble water (H₂O). Water is quite stable. Thus, it is a “good leaving group.” What remains is a carbocation. It should be noted is the charge is now not on the oxygen atom.…
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