Natalia, FORUM MODERATOR
18, Greece
855 points (SILICON)
May 13, 2010 22:53

Why are water solutions of ammonium salts basic?

Why are water solutions of ammonium salts basic? I know that a basic solution exists when OH- anions are produced. How are OH- anions produced out of these ammonium salts' solutions?
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Natalia, FORUM MODERATOR
18, Greece
855 points (SILICON)
June 18, 2010 21:50

First of all, is this true or have I mixed something up here? :S

 		 
 
  
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First of all, is this true or have I mixed something up here? :S


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orfeas, MEMBER
19, Greece
1668 points (SULFUR)
June 18, 2010 22:56

The salts produced by the action of ammonia on acids are known as the ammonium salts and all contain the compound radical ammonium (NH4+).

I guess that the NH4+ "takes" one H from water, but I am not sure.

 		 
 
  
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The salts produced by the action of ammonia on acids are known as the ammonium salts and all contain the compound radical ammonium (NH4+).


I guess that the NH4+ "takes" one H from water, but I am not sure.


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Natalia, FORUM MODERATOR
18, Greece
855 points (SILICON)
June 19, 2010 13:37

What made me think of this question was that I'd put cooking ammonia in water and the solution had been basic. But "cooking ammonia" is solid, so it can't be NH3 (which is actually gas). The package of the ammonia didn't have the compounds written on it, so I supposed that it had been an ammonium salt. I also searched the web for that and it seems that cooking "ammonia" is actually an ammonium salt -probably ammonium bicarbonate. Let's see what the reaction could be like:

NH4HCO3 + H2O ---> (hypothetically) NH4OH + H2CO3 ---> NH3 + 2H2O + CO2...? Considering that CO2 is released, that could be the answer. But that's only what I think about... :P Maybe it's just SOME ammonium salts' solutions which are basic.

 		 
 
  
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What made me think of this question was that I'd put cooking ammonia in water and the solution had been basic. But "cooking ammonia" is solid, so it can't be NH3 (which is actually gas). The package of the ammonia didn't have the compounds written on it, so I supposed that it had been an ammonium salt. I also searched the web for that and it seems that cooking "ammonia" is actually an ammonium salt -probably ammonium bicarbonate. Let's see what the reaction could be like:


NH4HCO3 + H2O ---> (hypothetically) NH4OH + H2CO3 ---> NH3 + 2H2O + CO2...? Considering that CO2 is released, that could be the answer. But that's only what I think about... :P Maybe it's just SOME ammonium salts' solutions which are basic.


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Natalia, FORUM MODERATOR
18, Greece
855 points (SILICON)
June 20, 2010 12:55

But when I put ammonium bicarbonate in water, I didn't notice any CO2 being released into the air... Hmmm...

 		 
 
  
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But when I put ammonium bicarbonate in water, I didn't notice any CO2 being released into the air... Hmmm...


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orfeas, MEMBER
19, Greece
1668 points (SULFUR)
June 20, 2010 13:30

The water isn't perfectly clean. Other ingredients may cause the lack of CO2...

 		 
 
  
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The water isn't perfectly clean. Other ingredients may cause the lack of CO2...


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Angeliki, MEMBER
18, Greece
157 points (CARBON)
June 20, 2010 22:22

Well, I found somewhere that the reaction that takes place in such solutions is reversible and it is the following: NH4(+) + H20 <--> NH3 + H2O + H(+), so the reaction you wrote Natalia seems right, but I don't really know... However, even in this case the solution wouldn't be basic, would it?

 		 
 
  
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Well, I found somewhere that the reaction that takes place in such solutions is reversible and it is the following: NH4(+) + H20 <--> NH3 + H2O + H(+),  so the reaction you wrote Natalia seems right, but I don't really know... However, even in this case the solution wouldn't be basic, would it?


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Natalia, FORUM MODERATOR
18, Greece
855 points (SILICON)
June 22, 2010 14:48

I don't know, maybe it would be basic, maybe not.... Hmmm...
Btw, I don't think it's the "impurity" of water that makes the difference... Whether a solution will be basic or acidic has to do with H+ and OH- ions... The "other ingredients" are mostly other ions like Na+, K+, Cl- etc.

 		 
 
  
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I don't know, maybe it would be basic, maybe not.... Hmmm...

Btw, I don't think it's the "impurity" of water that makes the difference... Whether a solution will be basic or acidic has to do with H+ and OH- ions... The "other ingredients" are mostly other ions like Na+, K+, Cl- etc.


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