Many hair conditioners contain an ammonium salt such as the following to help prevent 'fly-away' hair. These ions will react with neither acid nor base. Provide a reason why.

Question

Chemical structure of a quaternary ammonium salt with a positively charged nitrogen and a chloride ion.

Accepted Answer

Hello everyone. Today, we have the following problem. Mouthwash contains ammonium salts such as the following to act as an antiseptic. Is it acidic or basic? Why? So we have a, that says that this compound is basic because it can accept a proton while B says it is acidic because its nitrogen has a positive charge. C saying that it is both acidic and basic because it can accept the proton and its nitrogen has a positive charge. And D stating that it is neither acidic nor basic because it cannot donate, donate a proton and its nitrogen atom does not have a low pair. So if we look at the structure, we see that it has four alal groups bound to its nitrogen. And so this makes it essentially a quater ammonium salt. So it has the formula R four where R represents a carbon chain or a hydrocarbon chain. And then we have the nitrogen that is bound with our X and X the halogen. So it's the chlorine in this question in question. So recall that coronary ammonium ions are characterized by once again, the presence of four organic groups that are coherently bound to the nitrogen atom. And that results in the establishment of a permanent positive charge on the nitrogen atom. And according to Bronte Lorie basis, acids are proton donors while our bases are proton acceptors. So, Bronzy Loic acids can donate a proton, but pro Bronzy Lori bases can a can accept them. And if we look at the structure, it lacks a hydrogen atom that can undergo dero nation by a base. So it's not a proton donor. Therefore, it's not acidic. So B is incorrect and by default, C is also incorrect and it doesn't possess a lon pair on the nitrogen atom that's available for bonding. So it can't accept a proton. So it's not basic. So A is incorrect looking at our choice, we are left with D that it is neither acidic nor basic because once again, it cannot donate a proton and its nitrogen atom does not have a lone pair. And with that, we have solved the problem overall, I hope this helped. And until next time.

Many hair conditioners contain an ammonium salt such as the following to help prevent 'fly-away' hair. These ions will react with neither acid nor base. Provide a reason why.

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Key Concepts

Ammonium Salts

Ionic Compounds and Solubility

pH Neutrality