Metal hydroxide

Metal hydroxides are hydroxides of metals.^[1]

Metal hydroxides are also known as strong bases. Many common metal hydroxides are made up from hydroxide ions and the ion of the particular metal that it is made up of. Example: When NaOH (sodium hydroxide) is dissolved in water, it forms OH ions and Na ions. Metal hydroxides ionize completely when dissolved, so that is why they are known as strong bases. Their pH is above 7, labeling them as bases. Since ions conduct electricity, metal hydroxides carry electricity very well when they are dissolved.

Examples

• Aluminium hydroxide
• Beryllium hydroxide
• Cobalt(II) hydroxide
• Copper(II) hydroxide
• Curium hydroxide
• Gold(III) hydroxide
• Iron(II) hydroxide
• Mercury(II) hydroxide
• Nickel(II) hydroxide
• Tin(II) hydroxide
• Uranyl hydroxide
• Zinc hydroxide
• Zirconium(IV) hydroxide

Role in soils

In soils, it is assumed that larger amounts of natural phenols are released from decomposing plant litter rather than from throughfall in any natural plant community. Decomposition of dead plant material causes complex organic compounds to be slowly oxidized (lignin-like humus) or to break down into simpler forms (sugars and amino sugars, aliphatic and phenolic organic acids), which are further transformed into microbial biomass (microbial humus) or are reorganized, and further oxidized, into humic assemblages (fulvic and humic acids), which bind to clay minerals and metal hydroxides.

References