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Is Water Electron Withdrawing or Electron Donating: Acid-Base Properties of Different Water Related Species Treated by Taft Equation

1Department of Chemistry, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500007, India

2Department of Chemistry, St. Ann's College for Women, Mehdipatnam Hyderabad-500028, India


World Journal of Chemical Education. 2026, Vol. 14 No. 3, 47-50
DOI: 10.12691/wjce-14-3-2
Copyright © 2026 Science and Education Publishing

Cite this paper:
V. Jagannadham, Sanjeev Rachuru, D. A. Padmavathi. Is Water Electron Withdrawing or Electron Donating: Acid-Base Properties of Different Water Related Species Treated by Taft Equation. World Journal of Chemical Education. 2026; 14(3):47-50. doi: 10.12691/wjce-14-3-2.

Correspondence to: V.  Jagannadham, Department of Chemistry, Osmania University, Hyderabad-500007, India. Email: jagannadham1950@yahoo.com

Abstract

Water (HOH), hydroxyl radical (HO•), hydroxide ion (HO−), hydrogen peroxide (HHO2), hydroperoxyl radical HO2• hydroperoxide anion HO2− and hydronium ion (HH2O+) are all water related species and are environmentally important. The corresponding acid -base couples are represented as HOH/OH−, HO•/O•−, HO−/O2−, HHO2/, HO2•/ O2•-, HO2−/ O22− and H3O+/H2O. Therefore, the corresponding conjugate bases are hydroxide ion OH−, mono oxygen radical anion O•−, oxide dianion O2−, hydroperoxide anion HO2−, peroxyl radical anion O2•-, peroxide dianion O22− and H2O respectively. The acid-base properties are well characterized by treating the pKa data with Taft σ* values of the corresponding conjugate bases of these couples using Taft linear free-energy relationship (LFER). Positive Taft ρ* value of 17.7 indicates that electron withdrawing species facilitate the deprotonation and vice-versa. The present study is a good class-room exercise for both undergraduate and graduate advanced physical-organic chemistry level.

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