Neutralization

As acids and bases are readily found in nature, neutralization reactions have been biological occurrences since ancient times. For instance, neutralization reactions involving carbonate and bicarbonate regulate the pH of our blood. However, fundamental understanding of neutralizations began with Svante Arrhenius (1859-1927) in 1884 and Johannes Brønsted (1879-1947) and Thomas Lowry (1874-1936) in 1923. These people first articulated the chemical properties of acids andbases and how the two substances react in water to form salts. Brønsted and Lowry defined acids as hydrogen proton donors and bases as hydrogen proton acceptors. The Brønsted-Lowry definition is best understood and most used by chemistry students. Gilbert Lewis's (1875-1946) definition of acids andbases, also published in 1923, is useful when substances do not contain or receive hydrogens.