Combine and rearrange the neutralization of HCl by NH3 and the dissolution of NH4Cl in water to arrive at the decomposition of NH4Cl?
I know the eq. is NH4Cl -> NH3(g)+HCl(g)
But I am confused how this works with the decomposition of H2O?
Here is what I have so far:
NH3(g) ----> NH3(aq)
HCl(g) ----> HCl(aq)
HCl (aq) + NH3(aq) ---> NH4Cl(aq)
NH4Cl (aq) --> NH4Cl (s)
NH3 (g) + HCl(g) ----> NH4Cl(s)
NH4Cl(s) ----> NH3 (g) + HCl(g)
To understand the decomposition of NH4Cl, let's go step by step.
First, we start with the neutralization reaction between HCl and NH3. The balanced equation is:
HCl(aq) + NH3(aq) → NH4Cl(aq)
Here, HCl(aq) and NH3(aq) react to form NH4Cl(aq), which is a water-soluble salt.
Next, the dissolution of NH4Cl in water occurs:
NH4Cl(aq) → NH4+(aq) + Cl-(aq)
This step represents the dissociation of NH4Cl into its ions NH4+ and Cl-. These ions are now present in the aqueous solution.
Now, to complete the steps for the decomposition of NH4Cl, we need to consider the decomposition of water (H2O). Water can undergo a self-ionization reaction, resulting in the formation of H3O+(aq) and OH-(aq) ions:
H2O(l) ⇌ H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Since the dissociation constant for water is relatively small, we typically consider water as H2O(l) in most chemical reactions.
Finally, we combine the reactions involving NH4Cl and H2O to obtain the overall decomposition reaction of NH4Cl.
NH4Cl(aq) → NH3(g) + HCl(g) (1)
H2O(l) ⇌ H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq) (2)
By combining equations (1) and (2), we get:
NH4Cl(aq) + H2O(l) → NH3(g) + HCl(g) + H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)
Note that in this reaction, the water (H2O) remains in its liquid form and only the NH4Cl dissociates into NH3, HCl, H3O+ and OH- ions.
To summarize, the decomposition of NH4Cl in the presence of water involves the formation of NH3 gas, HCl gas, H3O+ ions, and OH- ions.