Gilbert Newton Lewis (1875-1946) is an American chemist whose theory of the electron pair fostered understanding of the covalent bond and extended the concept of acids and bases.
Lewis acid is an agent capable of accepting a pair of electrons to form a coordinate bond.
Lewis base is an agent capable of donating a pair of electrons to form a coordinate bond.
Lewis number (Le) is a dimensionless quantity used in fluid mechanics, defined by
where a is thermal diffusivity and D is diffusion coefficient.
Lewis structure is the representation of the electron arrangement in atoms, ions, or molecules by showing the valence electrons as dots placed around the symbols for the elements.
Acheson process is an industrial process to synthesize graphite and silicon carbide (carborundum), named after its inventor the American chemist Edward Goodrich Acheson (1856-1931). In this process, a solid-state reaction between pure silica sand (SiO2) and petroleum coke (C) at very high temperature (more than 2500 °C) leads to the formation of silicon carbide under the general reaction:
While studying the effects of high temperature on carborundum, Acheson had found that silicon vaporizes at about 4150 °C, leaving behind graphitic carbon.
Acid is a type of compound that contains hydrogen and dissociates in water to produce positive hydrogen ions. The reaction for an acid HA is commonly written:
In fact, the hydrogen ion (the proton) is solvated, and the complete reaction is:
This definition of acids comes from the Arrhenius theory. Such acids tend to be corrosive substances with a sharp taste, which turn litmus red and produce colour changes with other indicators. They are referred to as protonic acids and are classified into strong acids, which are almost completely dissociated in water, (e.g. sulphuric acid and hydrochloric acid), and weak acids, which are only partially dissociated (e.g. acetic acid and hydrogen sulphide). The strength of an acid depends on the extent to which it dissociates, and is measured by its dissociation constant.
In the Lowry-Brønsted theory of acids and bases (1923), the definition was extended to one in which an acid is a proton donor (a Brønsted acid), and a base is a proton acceptor (a Brønsted base). An important feature of the Lowry-Brønsted concept is that when an acid gives up a proton, a conjugate base is formed that is capable of accepting a proton.
Similarly, every base produces its conjugate acid as a result of accepting a proton.
For example, acetate ion is the conjugate base of acetic acid, and ammonium ion is the conjugate acid of ammonia.
As the acid of a conjugate acid/base pair becomes weaker, its conjugate base becomes stronger and vice versa.
A further extension of the idea of acids and bases was made in the Lewis theory. In this, a G. N. Lewis acid is a compound or atom that can accept a pair of electrons and a Lewis base is one that can donate an electron pair. This definition encompasses "traditional" acid-base reactions, but it also includes reactions that do not involve ions, e.g.
in which NH3 is the base (donor) and BCl3 the acid (acceptor).
Autocatalysis is a reaction in which its product can act as a catalyst. Oxalate oxidation with permanganate in an acid solution is a slow reaction
Mn2+-ions catalyse this reaction. When enough Mn2+-ions are created, the reaction occurs instantly.
Historically, base is a substance that yields an OH - ion when it dissociates in solution, resulting in a pH>7. In the Brønsted definition, a base is a substance capable of accepting a proton in any type of reaction. The more general definition, due to G.N. Lewis, classifies any chemical species capable of donating an electron pair as a base. Typically, bases are metal oxides, hydroxides, or compounds (such as ammonia) that give hydroxide ions in aqueous solution.
Generalic, Eni. "Lewis%2C Gilbert N." Croatian-English Chemistry Dictionary & Glossary. 29 June 2022. KTF-Split. {Date of access}. <https://glossary.periodni.com>.
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