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Adrian Aziz Santoso Rian

Solubility of Aluminium Hydroxide in Sodium Hydroxide Solution

Darshan Aryal  Follow

That's because $\ce{Al(OH)3}$ is amphoteric in nature, it acts as both acid and base. When you drop a chunk of $\ce{Al(OH)3}$ into a solution of $\ce{NaOH}$, you would get a soluble salt, which is sodium aluminate, and some extra water.

$$\ce{Al(OH)3 + NaOH -> Na[Al(OH)4]}$$

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Gordon Burditt  Follow
@Etched Yes, but you need to analyze the structure carefully. In the case of $\ce{Al(OH)3}$, it acts as a base since the $\ce{Al-O}$ bonds are broken, releasing $\ce{OH-}$. But at the same time, it can also accept $\ce{OH-}$ due to the presence of empty electron orbitals that can grasp onto electrons. This is just a little description, if you need more info, please More
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Duncan McDougall  Follow
Out of curiosity, is there any way to tell if a substance is amphoteric?More
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Fanny Crumble  Follow
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John Flavin  Follow
Another major point is that saying"Aluminium hydroxide is not soluble" isnt entirely correct. When a chemist says "not soluble" what he is really saying is that the solubility is very low. // Id write the reaction as $$\ce{Al(OH)3 + NaOH -> Na^+[Al(OH)4]^- }$$More
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