Which acids or bases do NOT give #"H"^(+)# upon dissolution?

Acid plus metal:
#2H^+(aq) +Mg(s)->Mg^(2+)(aq) +H_2(g)#

Acid plus oxide:
#2H^+(aq) +FeO(s)->Fe^(2+)(aq) +H_2O(l)#

Acid plus ammonia:
#H^+(aq) +NH_3(g) ->NH_4^+(aq)#

Base plus oxide:
#2OH^(-) ( aq) +CO_2(g)->CO_3^(2-)(aq) +H_2O(l)#

Oxide plus oxide:
#CaO(s)+CO_2(g)->CaCO_3(s)#

But there are many more.

Most acids or bases that do NOT satisfy the Arrhenius definition fit these criteria.

And thus, we consider Lewis bases/acids and Bronsted bases.

• #"AlCl"_3# is a Lewis acid; it accepts electron density into aluminum's empty #3p_z# nonbonding orbital.

• #"B"("OH")_3# is, most directly, a Lewis acid. Yes, I do mean acid. Why is it not a Lewis base? (As a sidenote, it also reacts with water, without dissociating #"OH"^(-)# into solution.)

• #"NH"_3# is a Lewis base, as it has a lone pair of electrons in nitrogen atom's filled slightly nonbonding orbital, making it an electron-pair donor. If it accepts a proton as a result, it is also a Bronsted base.

It hardly dissociates at all into #"H"^(+)# and #"NH"_2^(-)# in water, so it qualifies.

• #"CH"_3"CH"_2"NH"_2# is also a Lewis base, and by donating the lone pair of electrons, if it accepts a proton, it acts as a Bronsted base.

Bronsted acids don't answer your question; they donate protons to something else, and thus they must have protons to donate.