What are the Different Types of Salts in Chemistry

What are the Different Types of Salts in Chemistry? There are several types of salts we need to learn.

Salt is generally the product formed when an acid reacts with a base.

However, it is better defined as a product formed when the ionizable hydrogen ion from an acid has been partially or completely replaced by a metallic or ammonium ion.

An acid definition has been well discussed before and acid is known for producing hydrogen ion (H⁺) when it dissolves in water.

A base on the other hand has hydroxide ions (OH^–) when it dissolves in water.

When an acid reacts with a base, a salt is formed. It is important to note that there is heat that accompanies the neutralization reaction. The heat of neutralization is always exothermic which means it is usually heat evolved.

Let’s look at the different types of salts commonly formed.

Types of salts formed in chemistry are listed below

1. Normal salts
2. Acidic salts
3. Basic sals
4. Double salts
5. Complex salts

The next question will be how these salts are formed.

Normal salts:

Normal salts are salts formed when the ionizable hydrogen ion from an acid has been completely replaced by a metallic or ammonium ion.

HCl + NaOH == NaCl + H₂O

H₂SO₄ + KOH == K₂SO₄ + HCl

HCl + NH₄OH ==NH₄Cl +H₂O

Acidic salts

Acidic salts are formed when the ionizable hydrogen ion from an acid has been partially replaced by a metallic ion or ammonium ion.

It is important to mention that only dibasic acids are from acidic salts. Basicity of an acid is defined as the number of ionizable hydrogen ions in one mole of acid.

H₂SO₄ + HCl ===KHSO₄  + H₂O

H₂SO₄ + NaHSO₄ ===NaHSO₄ + H₂O

Basic Salts

Basic salts are salts formed when the hydroxide ion from the base has been partially replaced due to an insufficient amount of acid.

HCl + Zn(OH)₂ ===Zn(OH)Cl + H₂O

HCl + Ca(OH)₂ ===Ca(OH)Cl + H₂O

Double salts

Double salts are generally salts that contain more than one type of ion. Some contain two cations and one anion when they ionize or two anions and one cation. Examples of double salts are alums and Tutton’s salts.

Specific examples include Potash alum KAl(SO₄)₂.12H₂O, Mohr’s salt (NH₄)₂Fe(SO₄)₂(H₂O)_6.

Complex salts

A complex salt is a salt that has one or more complex ions with central metal metals or molecules attached.

Examples are Potassium Ferrocyanide (K₄[Fe(CN)₆]), Aminocupric sulfate [Cu(NH₃)4]SO4)