Is NH3 (Ammonia) an Acid or Base?

Answer:

NH3 (Ammonia) is a base.

Explanation:

Today we will know about whether NH₃(ammonia) is an acid or base in this blog post.

Step-1:

NH₃ gives a pair of electrons to H⁺ or another species or a molecule and thus NH₃ forms a covalent bond.

NH₃ can donate a pair of electrons because in the lewis structure of NH₃, we get one lone pair of electrons over N atom(:NH₃).

We know that an base gives a pair of electrons to another ion or molecule according to lewis theory of acid and base.So, NH₃ is an base.

2H₃N: +Ag ⁺ ----> [Ag(NH₃)₂]⁺.

Here two molecules of NH₃ have donate two pair of electrons to Ag ⁺.That is why NH₃ is an lewis base and Ag ⁺ is a lewis acid.

Step-2:

NH₃ reacts with an acid HCl to produce NH⁺₄Cl⁻ .Here NH₃ is a proton acceptor and HCl is proton donar.

According to Bronsted-Lowry concept,an base is a substance which has the tendency to accept a proton .On the other hand,an acid donates protons.

NH₃ + HCl ----> NH⁺₄Cl⁻

Here,HCl donates a proton and is an acid while NH₃ accepts a proton and is a base.

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