Beryllium-Based Anion Sponges: Close Relatives of Proton Sponges

Ion exchange chromatography separates charged molecules from a solution by reversibly exchanging them with mobile, or 'active', ions associated with the oppositely charged stationary phase. This method can be used to separate ions, soften and deionize water, and purify solutions. The polymers comprising the ion-exchange column are high-molecular-weight and chemically stable polymers, crosslinked to be porous and essentially insoluble. They are also functionalized with either acidic or...

Ionic crystals consist of two or more different kinds of ions that usually have different sizes. The packing of these ions into a crystal structure is more complex than the packing of metal atoms that are the same size.
Most monatomic ions behave as charged spheres, and their attraction for ions of opposite charge is the same in every direction. Consequently, stable structures for ionic compounds result (1) when ions of one charge are surrounded by as many ions as possible of the opposite...

Crown ethers are cyclic polyethers that contain multiple oxygen atoms, usually arranged in a regular pattern. The first crown ether was synthesized by Charles Pederson while working at DuPont in 1967. For this work, Pedersen was co-awarded the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry. Crown ethers are named using the formula x-crown-y, where x is the total number of atoms in the ring and y is the number of ether oxygen atoms. The term 'crown' refers to the crown-like shape that these ether molecules...

An element composed of atoms that readily lose electrons (a metal) can react with an element composed of atoms that readily gain electrons (a nonmetal) to produce ions through complete electron transfer. The compound formed by this transfer is stabilized by the electrostatic attractions (ionic bonds) between the oppositely charged ions.

The mathematical expression known as the wave function, ψ, contains information about each orbital and the wavelike properties of electrons in an isolated atom. When atoms are bound together in a molecule, the wave functions combine to produce new mathematical descriptions that have different shapes. This process of combining the wave functions for atomic orbitals is called hybridization and is mathematically accomplished by the linear combination of atomic orbitals. The new orbitals that...

An acid can be deprotonated to form a conjugate base or an anion. If the produced anion is more stable, then the acid is stronger. On the contrary, if the anion is unstable, then the acid is weaker. Hence, to determine the acidity of the compound, the stability of its conjugate base is studied using various factors.
The size effect explains the change in atomic size on acidity. When comparing the acids formed from elements that belong to the same column in the periodic table, their atomic sizes...