What Is Protonation

Protonation is  the addition of a proton to an atom, molecule, or ion. Protonation is different from hydrogenation in that during protonation a change in charge of the protonated species occurs, while the charge is unaffected during hydrogenation. Protonation occurs in many catalytic reactions. Both protonation and deprotonation occur in most acid-base reaction. When a species is either protonated or depronated, its mass and charge change, plus its chemical properties are altered. For example, protonation may change the optical properties, hydrophobicity, or reactivity of a substance. Protonation is usually a reversible chemical reaction. Protonation Examples An example is the formation of the ammonium group where NH4 is formed by protonation of ammonia NH3 Water may be protonated by  sulfuric acid:H2SO4   H2O â‡Å' H3O   HSO-4