Acid–base concepts provide one of the most important and enduring foundations for correlating chemical reactivity. A general theory of acid–base reactivity has yet to be developed but, in fact, there may be little need in view of the utility of the various concepts that provide a framework for understanding and, in many cases, quantitatively accounting for or predicting chemical reactivity. Several such frameworks are available, but this article focuses on two concepts that have contributed significantly to geochemistry: Brønsted–Lowry acidity and Lewis acidity. In addition to reactions in aqueous solution (the focus of this article), both Brønsted–Lowry and Lewis acid–base reactions occur at the interface between mineral surfaces and aqueous solutions. Surface acidity and the consequent formation of surface complexes constitutes a very active area of current research (see Surface geochemistry), owing to the fundamental importance of acid–base reactivity in explaining and correlating...
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Moses, C.O. (1998). Acids and bases. In: Geochemistry. Encyclopedia of Earth Science. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-4496-8_2
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