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Q.All Lewis acids are not Bronsted acids. Why?

Telangana TsbieTelangana Board of Intermediate Education (Intermediate 1st Year) 2023Subjective· 2mImportance★★★★★
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A Lewis acid only accepts an electron pair; many (like BF3) have no ionisable hydrogen, so they cannot give a proton and hence are not Bronsted acids.

Definitions:

  • A Bronsted acid is a substance that can donate a proton (H+).
  • A Lewis acid is a substance that can accept a lone pair of electrons.

Every Bronsted acid, when it donates a proton, is also acting as an electron-pair acceptor in a wider sense, but the reverse is not true.

Many Lewis acids do not contain any hydrogen that they can release as H+. For example:

  • BF3: boron is electron-deficient and accepts a lone pair, so it is a Lewis acid; but it has no hydrogen to donate, so it cannot be a Bronsted acid.
  • AlCl3, similarly, is a Lewis acid but not a Bronsted acid. …

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