Question

What is ionisation used for ?

Answer 1

Ionization:

• Ionization is the process when the neutral molecules are converted to electrically charged atoms and molecules.
• This process can be achieved by the gain or loss of electrons.
• The ion with a negative charge is known as an anion and with a positive charge is known as a cation.
• Hence, ionization is used to break the atoms into ions.

Example: Example: Ionization of weak acetic acid

The ionization of acetic acid can be represented as:

$\underset{\mathrm{Acetic}\mathrm{acid}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}\rightleftharpoons \underset{\mathrm{Acetate}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{COO}}^{-}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}+\underset{\mathrm{Hydrogen}\mathrm{ion}}{{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\left(\mathrm{aq}\right)}$

Applying the law of chemical equilibrium

$$\begin{gathered} {\mathrm{K}}_i=\frac{\left[{\mathrm{CH}}_3{\mathrm{COO}}^{-}\right]\left[{\mathrm{H}}^{+}\right]}{\left[{\mathrm{CH}}_3\mathrm{COOH}\right]} \\ {\mathrm{K}}_i=\mathrm{ionization}\mathrm{constant} \end{gathered}$$