Chemical Reactions

Acids, Bases & Salts

X CuSO₄ (aq) + Na₂CO₃ (aq) ---> CuCO₃ (s) + Na₂SO₄ (aq) 

√ CuSO₄ (aq) + Na₂CO₃ (aq) ---> Cu₂CO₃(OH)₂ (s) + Na₂SO₄ (aq) + CO₂(g)

 Chemical Reactions

Superacids

Superacids are acids with H₀ (Hammett acidity function) lower than -12 (100% H₂SO₄). The modern definition of a superacid is a medium in which the chemical potential of the proton is higher than pure sulfuric acid.

• Fluoroantimonic acid, H₂FSbF₆             (-23 < H₀ < -21)
• Magic acid,                 FSO₃H·SbF₅     (H₀ = −19.2)
• Carborane acid,          H(CHB₁₁Cl₁₁)   (H₀ < −18)
• Fluorosulfuric acid,     HSO₃F              (H₀ = −15.1)
• Triflic acid,                  CF₃SO₃H           (H₀ = −14.9)

 Chemical Reactions

Superbases

Superbases are substances that have an extremely high affinity for hydrogen ions. So basic that they can remove all hydrogen ion from water. 

ortho-diethynylbenzene dianion: the strongest man-made base. So strong that it can even pull hydrogen ions off benzene.

There are 280 million haemoglobin molecules in a red blood cell.

'Haem' : porphyrin ring (made from 4 pyrroles) + Fe²⁺ ion. Note that w'Globin' : protein component

When oxygenated, haem is planar.                                    When deoxygenated, haem is 'domed-shaped' due to ionic interaction of peripheral amino acid residues at the interface. (Amine group of an amino acid residue is protonated while another amino acid residue is carboxylated.) 

Note the significance of myoglobin's hyperbolic curve and haemoglobin's sigmoid curve.