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Science 4 October 2002:
Vol. 298. no. 5591, p. 69
DOI: 10.1126/science.1076959
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Perspectives

CHEMISTRY:
Caught in the Act of Dissolution

William H. Robertson and Mark A. Johnson

The ionic dissociation of acids such as HCl and HBr in water is driven by a substantial energy release when the ions are formed in an extended medium. But how many water molecules does it take to trigger this dissociation? In their Perspective, Robertson and Johnson highlight the report by Hurley et al., who have answered this question for the case of HBr. Their experiments on small water clusters indicate that just five water molecules are enough to ionize HBr.

The authors are at the Sterling Chemistry Laboratory, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA. E-mail: mark.johnson{at}yale.edu

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Aggregation-Induced Dissociation of HCl(H2O)4 Below 1 K: The Smallest Droplet of Acid.
A. Gutberlet, G. Schwaab, O. Birer, M. Masia, A. Kaczmarek, H. Forbert, M. Havenith, and D. Marx (2009)
Science 324, 1545-1548
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Spectroscopic Determination of the OH- Solvation Shell in the OH-{middle dot}(H2O)n Clusters.
W. H. Robertson, E. G. Diken, E. A. Price, J.-W. Shin, and M. A. Johnson (2003)
Science 299, 1367-1372
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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