would you draw or write out an example? Lewis acids/bases accept or donate electron pairs to another molcule, but the electron donor is always still attached to the electrons it is donated, creating a complex.
Redox reactions involves electron transfer, the electron donor is not still attached to the electrons it has donated.
What about something like HCl --> H
+ + Cl
-? This is definitely a lewis acid that dissociates (though not a redox reaction).
I think the vast majority of lewis acid/base reactions still involve the electron donor and electron acceptor being separated.
Also, on a related note, can someone help clarify how we define a lewis acid and a lewis base. If we were to look at the above reaction strictly from a lewis acid/base point of view, HCl is considered an acid because the Chlorine will accept a pair of electrons from the Hydrogen. In this example, we focused on the more electronegative term/the second term (Cl) when deciding whether the molecule HCl was an acid or base.
However, if we look at a different reaction, like NaOH --> Na
+ + OH
-, we will call NaOH a base. This certainly makes intuitive sense, but it doesn't line up with what we normally do. In NaOH, it is the second term/more electronegative term (OH) that accepts electrons (just like Cl) while Na donates electrons (much like hydrogen in the earlier example). This makes me want to call NaOH an acid, with the resulting Na+ an acid and OH- a base.
Basically, when using the lewis acid/base definition, which part of the
molecule do we look at when deciding whether the molecule is an acid or a base?
P.S. I'm aware that because HCl and NaOH are strong acids and bases, respectively, their conjugates would not really function as a base/acid. Just, hypothetically, and based on the lewis acid/base definition, how do we define the molecule (before it separates!) as an acid or base?