Structure and properties of the hydroxonium ion

Abstract

Our paper is devoted to the study of the structure of the hydroxonium ion, its thermal drift and electrical conductivity in pure water. The qualitative analysis is based on the special model of a water molecule. This approach first of all is applied to the modeling of structure of hydroxonium ion. It had been shown that 1) the modeling values of the geometrical parameters for the hydroxonium ion are in quite satisfactory agreement with those obtained by different experimental methods; 2) the temperature dependence for the effective radius of the hydroxonium ion in liquid water is discussed; 3) the principally important influence of the hexagonal ice nuclei on the mobility of hydroxonium ion near the triple point of water is considered and stressed; 4) the temperature dependence of the fraction volume for nuclei having the structure of the hexagonal ice is determined. The proposed model of the hydroxonium ion describes its thermal drift and the electrical conductivity of pure water with satisfactory accuracy.