Question

What is ammonium hydroxide? Explain with a suitable equation why the term is misleading and what would be a better term for it.

Answer 1

The fictitious substance “ammonium hydroxide” (NH4OH)(NHX4OH) was suggested in accordance with the Arrhenius theory. In 1882–1883, Svante Arrhenius had researched into the conductivity of electrolytes. His theory of electrolytic dissociation was discussed in his dissertation in 1884 and published in refined form in 1887. In 1903, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Svante Arrhenius “in recognition of the extraordinary services he has rendered to the advancement of chemistry by his electrolytic theory of dissociation”.