Question
Question: Is alumina basic or acidic?...
Is alumina basic or acidic?
Solution
Hint : To answer this question, we first need to understand what is ph. pH is a scale used in chemistry to describe the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. The pH of acidic solutions is lower than that of basic or alkaline solutions. The pH scale is logarithmic, indicating the concentration of hydrogen ions in a solution in inverse order.
Complete Step By Step Answer:
Acid – An acid is a molecule or ion that can donate a proton or create a covalent bond with an electron pair, depending on whether it is a Bronsted–Lowry acid or a Lewis acid. The proton donors, also known as Brnsted–Lowry acids, are the first group of acids.
Base - There are three prevalent meanings of the word base in chemistry: Arrhenius bases, Bronsted bases, and Lewis bases. According to all definitions, bases are chemicals that react with acids, as proposed by G.-F. Rouelle in the mid-eighteenth century.
Alumina – Aluminum oxide is an aluminum-oxygen chemical combination. It's the most common of numerous aluminum oxides, and it's known as aluminum (III) oxide. It's known as alumina, but it's also known as aloxide, aloxite, or alundum, depending on the form or application. It occurs naturally as the mineral corundum in its crystalline polymorphic phase, from which the precious gemstones ruby and sapphire are formed. It's used to make aluminum metal, as an abrasive because of its hardness, and as a refractory material because of its high melting point.
So, we conclude that Aluminum oxide, often known as alumina, is an amphoteric material that may react as both an acid and a base. The word amphoteric comes from Greek and means "both."
Note :
Despite the fact that the names aluminum and alumina sound similar, they are not interchangeable. Alumina is a chemical substance that contains the element aluminum. Likewise, there are several other important differences between aluminum and alumina.