Question

What is ionization?

Answer 1

Ionization:

• It is the process in which an atom/molecule acquires a positive/negative charge by losing or gaining electrons.
• The resulting species that carry charges are known as ions.
• The positively charged species are known as cations while the negatively charged species are known as anions.

Ionization reaction:

• The general representation of ionization is depicted below:

$\mathrm{M}\to {\mathrm{M}}^{+}+{\mathrm{e}}^{-}$ (the process of an ionizing atom $\mathrm{M}$ to form its cation)

Example:

• Ionization of Hydrobromic acid $\left(\mathrm{HBr}\right)$:

$\mathrm{HBr}\left(\mathrm{g}\right)\stackrel{\mathrm{ionization}}{\to }{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)+{\mathrm{Br}}^{-}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)$