If a salt with no O2 or H atoms dissociates in solution is it neutral?

Question

How does it work, cause OH- and H3O+ ions can't be produced, can they? And if not, then how is it an acid or base? Are they neutral ? e.g CaCl.

Answer 1

Actually what happens is called hydrolysis. If the salt is from a strong acid and a strong base, the solution is neutral since the ions are spectators (remember from balancing equations) and don't do anything with water(example NaCl solutions are pH = 7). If the salt is from a weak acid and a strong base (example NaF from NaOH and HF) the anion wants to react with water to form the weak acid:

F- + H2O --> HF + OH-

so you get a basic solution. If it is a weak base and a strong acid (NH4Cl from NH4OH and HCl), the cation can react with water to form the weak base:

NH4+ + H2O --> NH4OH + H+

so you get an acidic solution. Hope this wasn't too confusing. Check in a chem book in the chapter about other applications of aqueous equilibrium. Good luck

Answer 2

It is not necessarily neutral. Suppose substance X dissolves in water, and has an appetite for hydrogen ions. It will eat some from the water (which will always have some available), leaving an excess of OH-. The solution will thus be basic. An acidic substance could be realized the same way.

Answer 3

the thing that's neutral is the salt ryt.. and when you write the formula.. its
salt+ water----> acid + base


CaCl+H20---->HCl+CaOH