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CHEM 121 Studioby Learn4Less · UBC CHEM 121

CHEM 121 glossary

Lewis base

An electron-pair donor: a species with a lone pair that it can share with a Lewis acid to form a new bond.

NHHH
The lone pair on N makes NHX3\ce{NH3} a Lewis base.

Example

BFX3+NHX3→FX3B−NHX3\ce{BF3 + NH3 -> F3B-NH3}: NHX3\ce{NH3} donates its lone pair to boron. Water, OHX−\ce{OH-} and ClX−\ce{Cl-} are also Lewis bases.

See alsoLewis acidLone pair