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Chemical Reactions

Acids and Bases

What are Bronsted acids and bases?

The Bronsted acid/base definition differs somewhat from the Lewis definition. Rather than focusing on electron acceptors and donors, the Bronsted definition deals with donating or accepting H+ atoms (protons) in chemical reactions. A Bronsted acid is a species that tends to donate protons in a chemical reaction, while a Bronsted base is a species that tends to accept those protons. To accept protons, a Bronsted base must typically have at least one pair of nonbonding valence electrons.