Strong base
A strong base ionizes or dissociates nearly completely in water, producing hydroxide ions or accepting protons from water.
Base (chemistry): A substance that accepts protons, donates electron pairs, or increases hydroxide concentration, depending on the acid–base theory. Strong bases are the highly ionizing members of this broader chemical class.
Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory: A theory defining acids as proton donors and bases as proton acceptors. It describes hydroxide formation when a base accepts a proton from water.
Sodium hydroxide: The ionic compound NaOH, a highly soluble strong base used in industry and laboratories. It is a common strong base for neutralization, cleaning, and chemical processing.
Weak base: A base that reacts only partially with water, establishing an equilibrium with its unreacted form. Unlike a strong base, it does not ionize nearly completely in water.
Hydroxide: The negatively charged polyatomic ion OH⁻, formed by oxygen and hydrogen. Dissolved metal hydroxides provide hydroxide ions that drive strong-base behavior.
Lewis acid–base theory: A theory defining acids as electron-pair acceptors and bases as electron-pair donors. Its broader definition includes strong bases whose basicity is not simply hydroxide production.
Potassium hydroxide: The ionic compound KOH, a highly soluble strong base used in chemical manufacturing and analysis. It supplies hydroxide in applications where potassium salts are preferred.
Concentration: The amount of a substance present in a specified volume of mixture or solution. Strength describes ionization; concentration describes how much base is present.
Dissociation (chemistry): The separation of an ionic compound into its constituent ions, often when dissolved in water. Soluble strong bases dissociate nearly completely into mobile ions.
Chemical equilibrium: A state in which forward and reverse reaction rates are equal, leaving concentrations macroscopically constant. Near-complete ionization corresponds to an equilibrium strongly favoring products.