Autoionization of Water

Definition

Autoionization of water is the process where two water molecules react to produce one hydronium ion (H3O+) and one hydroxide ion (OH-).

Related terms

Equilibrium:

A state in a chemical reaction where the rate of forward reaction equals the rate of backward reaction.

pH:

A measure of how acidic/basic water is. The range goes from 0 - 14, with 7 being neutral.

Kw: The equilibrium constant for water at a particular temperature. It's used to calculate the concentration of hydrogen ions and hydroxide ions in an aqueous solution.