Hydration

Definition

The ordering of water molecules around a separated ion that stabilizes dispersed charge and keeps the ion in solution.

Hydration depends on ordered water around separated ions, an arrangement that becomes harder to maintain as thermal motion disrupts the Hydrogen Bond Network. When hydration becomes less competitive than the lattice, ions leave solution and join a solid. Scale control is in part about keeping hydration favorable so ions stay dissolved.

Related concepts

Concentration as Scale Driver · Hydrogen-Bond Network · Inverse Solubility

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Part of The Blueprint of Water · 🧪 chemistry