Quote:
Originally Posted by jeffy
Okay until yesterday I thought hydrogen could only make H+ ions but now I know it can make H- ions also. I know that H+ is acid but why is H- alkali?
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When a metal hydride hits water, you get MH + H
2O ---> MOH + H
2 and the metal hydroxide is an alkali.
You could think of it as the hydride ion taking a hydrogen ion from the water to leave behind the OH
-, which causes the alkalinity.
H
- + H
2O ---> H
2 + OH
-