Hydronium
Hydronium is a positively-charged ion that forms from water in the presence of hydrogen ions. The formula for hydronium is H3O+.
Hydronium is present whenever an acid is dissolved in water; the hydrogen ions released by the acid do not exist in a free state. Water will also spontaneously dissociate into hydronium and hydroxide ions, in the following reaction:
- 2H2O ↔ H3O+ + OH-
Since the reaction releases an OH- ion, this ion's alkalinity balances hydronium's acidity, and water remains neutral (a hydronium ion concentration of 1 × 10-7.0 at 298 K).
