Talk:Grotthuss mechanism

Effect of thermal motions on cations

The flow of cations in an electric field cannot be due to random thermal motions. It is due to the electric field, and opposed by random thermal motions. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.1.212.98 (talk) 06:44, 14 September 2018 (UTC)

Yes, you are right. I have now corrected the article. Dirac66 (talk) 02:21, 27 September 2018 (UTC)

2022 X-ray evidence of an alternative mechanism

Scientist resolves one of the holy grails of physical chemistry after 17 years of research - could mention. - Rod57 (talk) 09:14, 3 October 2022 (UTC)

@Rod57 Thank you. I have now added a mention at the end of the article. Dirac66 (talk) 03:49, 13 November 2022 (UTC)

Incorrect formula for water?

The article says:

In his 1806 publication “Theory of decomposition of liquids by electrical currents”, Theodor Grotthuss proposed a theory of water conductivity.[1] Grotthuss envisioned the electrolytic reaction as a sort of ‘bucket line’ where each oxygen atom simultaneously passes and receives a single hydrogen ion. It was an astonishing theory to propose at the time, since the water molecule was thought to be OH not H2O and the existence of ions was not fully understood.

Did most chemists really believe water was OH as late as 1806? John Baez (talk) 08:56, 9 June 2024 (UTC)

The modern chemical formulae of simple molecules such as H₂O and CH₄ were only introduced in the 1850s by Frankland and Kekulé. See Valence (chemistry)#Historical development. Dirac66 (talk) 12:45, 9 June 2024 (UTC)