Talk:Protonation

Addition of a proton to an atom or ion?

The opening sentence of the article states: "In chemistry, protonation is the addition of a proton (H+) to an atom, molecule, or ion." Is there a source for this? AFAIK, the addition of a proton to an atom or ion is nuclear fusion, which does not concern chemistry. Devil Master (talk) 22:42, 6 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Well, it is possible to misconstrue almost any statement. But getting too picky for a few extremely attentive semanticists would probably end up obscuring the definition for the great majority of earthlings. So I reverted your interesting angle. If one wanted to get ridiculous, reduction of an ion (by an electron) could also be thought to include nuclear chemistry. It is generally understood by chemists and would-be chemists, that chemical processes (involving a few eV max) do not directly mess with the nuclei. IUPAC sees it that way too in their discussion of Protonated Molecule, as generated in mass spectrometry: "An ion formed by interaction of a molecule with a proton abstracted from an ion, as often occurs in chemical ionization according to the reaction: M + XH + → MH + + X . The symbolism [M + H]+ may also be used to represent the protonated molecule." Interesting thoughts though! --Smokefoot (talk) 23:37, 6 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

An example may clarify further. Protonation of the ion F^- means the reaction F^- + H⁺ → HF, either in the gas phase or in aqueous solution. This is not nuclear fusion because the proton H⁺ does not into go into the F nucleus; rather the two atoms stay separate and form a chemical bond.

The article should however contain a set of examples. Also a source as suggested, probably a first-year chemistry textbook. Dirac66 (talk) 00:11, 7 June 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Is "deprotonate" correct word?

In the context of this sentence "in that weak acids deprotonate more slowly than strong acids" I think the right word is actually protonate. 2001:420:28C:1006:E406:A1BA:48FC:B6BA (talk) 00:19, 4 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]

The sentence is certainly confusing. It is correct provided the verb deprotonate is taken to mean lose a proton, as weak acids lose protons more slowly than strong acids. However your version weak acids protonate more slowly than strong acids is correct if protonate is taken to mean transfer a proton to a base (which is thereby protonated), and this second meaning is more common in most chemistry texts.

So instead of just changing deprotonate to protonate, I will try to write something less ambiguous. Dirac66 (talk) 19:04, 4 March 2014 (UTC)[reply]