Question

Classify the following species into Lewis acids and Lewis bases and show how these act as Lewis acid/base: (a) OH^– 

(b) F ^– 

(c) H⁺ 

(d) BCl₃. 

Answer 1

(a) OH^– is a Lewis base since it can donate its lone pair of electrons. 

(b) F ^– is a Lewis base since it can donate a pair of electrons. 

(c) H⁺ is a Lewis acid since it can accept a pair of electrons. 

(d) BCl₃ is a Lewis acid since it can accept a pair of electrons.