Protonation

As protonation is known in the chemical, the addition of protons ( hydrogen nuclei / cations ) to a chemical compound in a acid -base reaction. In this case, the target molecule can be added to one or more positive charges, depending on the number of transferred protons. The compound having the protons received is referred to as protonated compound. The opposite action, the elimination of proton from a compound called deprotonation.

A prerequisite for the process of protonation is the presence of an acid and a base as defined Brønsted- Lowry. The acid strength - represented by the pKa value - and the base strength ( pK B ) determine whether the equilibrium is on the side of the protonated or unprotonated compound.

The protonation of a compound can be influenced by steric factors.

The proton has a positive charge is transferred, as in the following example that shows the protonation of ammonia ( NH3) by hydrogen chloride ( HCl):

Protonation is a frequently observed and unused reaction step. It is often used to activate a chemical compound for subsequent reactions. But they are also a set of ionizing compounds, for example as part of a mass spectrometric analysis.

• Acidity and basicity
• Chemical Reaction