15 Facts on H2SO4 + NH4OH: What, How To Balance & FAQs

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The H2SO4 + NH4OH is a chemical reaction between a strong acid and a weak base. Let us discuss brief details on H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction below.

The chemical formula for sulfuric acid is H2SO4, and for ammonium hydroxide is NH4OH. H2SO4 consists of 2 H, 1 S, and 4 O atoms. NH4OH consists of 1 N, 5 H, and 1 O atom. NH4OH is formed due to the reaction between ammonia and water. NH4OH is an aqueous solution of ammonia and has no color.

Let us discuss the balanced equation of H2SO4 + NH4OH, its type, titration, intermolecular force, reaction enthalpy, is it a conjugate pair or not, net ionic equation, and many more facts and some FAQs on H2SO4 + NH4OH chemical reaction.

What is the product of H2SO4 and NH4OH?

The product of H2SO4 + NH4OH is ammonium sulfate or mascagnite [(NH4)2SO4] and water [H2O].

H2SO4 + 2 NH4OH = (NH4)2SO4 + 2 H2O

What type of reaction is H2SO4 + NH4OH?

The H2SO4 + NH4OH is an acid-base neutralization reaction as well as a double displacement reaction. When H2SO4 reacts with NH4OH it undergoes a neutralization reaction and produces salt and water. Also, the cations and anions of both reactants get displaced with each other.

How to balance H2SO4 + NH4OH?

The steps to balance H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction are given below:

  • The unbalanced H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction is
  • H2SO4 + NH4OH = (NH4)2SO4 + H2O
  • We can see that LHS is not equal to RHS
  • First, multiply the NH4OH by 2 on LHS we get
  • H2SO4 + 2 NH4OH = (NH4)2SO4 + H2O
  • Second, multiply the H2O by 2 on RHS we get
  • H2SO4 + 2 NH4OH = (NH4)2SO4 + 2 H2O
  • Thus, in the above equation, all the elements present in LHS are equal to RHS. Hence the equation is balanced.

H2SO4 + NH4OH titration

The steps for the titration of the H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction is given below:

Chemicals and materials:

  • Burette
  • Pipette
  • A syringe with rubber tubing
  • 250 ml beaker -1
  • 100 ml beaker- 3
  • Burette stand with clamp
  • NH4OH solution
  • H2SO4 acid
  • Bromothymol blue indicator
NH4OH
Titration of H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction

Procedure:

  • Label three 100 ml beakers as one beaker ‘acid’, another as ‘base’, and the last beaker as rinse’.
  • Add 80 ml NH4OH solution to the beaker labeled as ‘base’ and record its concentration.
  • Fill the burette with 5 ml of NH4OH solution from the base beaker to wash or clean the impurities present in the burette. Then pour that solution into the sink. Repeat the same cleaning step 2-3 times to clean the burette.
  • Again fill the burette with NH4OH solution, but now fill the burette with extra 2 ml above the ‘0’ ml marking on the burette. Then quickly open and reclose the stopcock of the burette for some seconds into the sink to remove the air bubble and fill the tip of the burette.
  • Take 100 ml of unknown H2SO4 in a beaker labeled ‘acid’. Add 5 ml of H2SO4 acid from the beaker labeled ‘acid’ into a beaker labeled ‘rinse’. 5 ml of H2SO4 is now added to the pipette using a syringe to clean the pipette and pour the H2SO4 acid into the sink.
  • The pipette is filled with H2SO4 from the acid beaker with the help of a syringe. Cautiously move the pipette filled with acid into the 250 ml beaker and drain out the acid.
  • The bromothymol blue is used as an indicator. Add 3-4 drops of bromothymol blue indicator into a 250 ml beaker containing H2SO4 acid. The indicator on adding in acid changes its color to yellow.
  • Hold the 250 ml beaker under the burette and add NH4OH solution dropwise from the burette into the beaker. Swirl the beaker for some seconds and later note the color change. The color of the acid solution in the beaker changes to blue. Also, note the volume of NH4OH was reduced from the burette.

H2SO4 + NH4OH net ionic equation

The net ionic equation for H2SO4 + NH4OH chemical reaction is as follows:

  • 2 NH4OH (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) → (NH4)2SO4 (aq) + 2H2O (l)
  • 2 NH4+ + 2 OH–  + 2 H+ + SO42-    → 2 NH4+ + SO42-  + 2 H2O
  • Cancel out the similar ions from both the LHS and RHS, and we get,
  • 2 OH– + 2 H+  → 2 H2O
  • OH– + H+  → H2O
  • The 2 NH4+ and SO42- ions get canceled on both sides.

H2SO4 + NH4OH conjugate pairs

The H2SO4 and NH4OH reaction is a conjugate acid-base pair.

  • H2SO4 can acts as a conjugate base by donating its proton and forming HSO4– ion.
  • NH4OH can act as conjugate acid as it accepts the proton to form an NH4+ ion.

H2SO4 and NH4OH intermolecular forces

The intermolecular force in H2SO4 and NH4OH is given below:

  • H2SO4 has dipole-dipole interactions, van der Waals dispersion forces, and hydrogen bonding.
  • NH4OH shows intermolecular force i.e. hydrogen bonding because it can completely dissociate in water.

H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction enthalpy

The reaction enthalpy for H2SO4 + NH4OH chemical reaction is -205.61 kJ/mol.

  • The enthalpy of the formation of H2SO4 is -814 kJ/mol.
  • The enthalpy of the formation of NH4OH is -366.714 kJ/mol.
  • The enthalpy of the formation of (NH4)2SO4 is -1180.9 kJ/mol.
  • The enthalpy of the formation of H2O is -285.8 kJ/mol.
  • The Reaction enthalpy (∆H) of H2SO4 + NH4OH = Enthalpy of product – enthalpy of reactant, we get,
  • (∆H) of H2SO4 + NH4OH is = -1180.714 kJ/mol – (-1466.7) kJ/mol
  • (∆H) of H2SO4 + NH4OH is = -285.986 kJ/mol.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH a buffer solution?

The H2SO4 and NH4OH mixture is not able to form a buffer solution. H2SO4 is a strong acid and NH4OH is a weak base, which is not a combination of buffer solution as a buffer solution is only formed within salt of a weak acid and weak base.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH a complete reaction?

The H2SO4 + NH4OH is not a complete reaction. It cannot form an equilibrium. There are two reactants and two products in this reaction. Thus, it cannot form an equilibrium and is an incomplete reaction.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

The H2SO4 + NH4OH is an exothermic reaction. When NH4OH is added to H2SO4, it can produce heat with the formation of ammonium sulfate salt.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH a redox reaction?

H2SO4 + NH4OH is not a redox reaction.

  • The oxidation number of S in H2SO4 is +6.
  • The oxidation number of N in NH4OH is -3.
  • The oxidation number of in (NH4)2SO4 N is -3 and S is +6.
  • This shows that there is no change in oxidation numbers of the reactant and product of the H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction and is not a redox reaction.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH a precipitation reaction?

H2SO4 + NH4OH is not a precipitation reaction because it cannot form a precipitate of ammonium sulfate. The ammonium sulfate produced in this reaction is completely soluble and thus does not form a precipitate.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH reversible or irreversible reaction?

H2SO4 + NH4OH is an irreversible reaction. The reactants H2SO4 and NH4OH can form the product (NH4)2SO4 and H2O, but the products (NH4)2SO4 and H2O on treated with each other cannot form the H2SO4 and NH4OH when reacted.

Is H2SO4 + NH4OH displacement reaction?

H2SO4 + NH4OH is a displacement reaction. The molecules of reactants H2SO4 and NH4OH get displaced to form a product that undergoes a displacement reaction.

Conclusion:

H2SO4 + NH4OH reaction has the products (NH4)2SO4 and H2O. It is a neutralization reaction and a double displacement reaction. It is not a redox reaction as the oxidation number of the reactant is similar to the products. It has dipole-dipole interaction and an exothermic reaction.