How to Use hydrogen ion in a Sentence

hydrogen ion

noun
  • The more hydrogen ions present, the more acidic the solution will be, and the lower the pH.
    — SELF, 6 Sep. 2018
  • The lower this number is, the more hydrogen ions there are and the more acidic the environment is.
    — Sara Hoffman, Pharmd, Verywell Health, 2 July 2024
  • Highly acidic foods donate hydrogen ions that react with and break down these long chain polymers called plastic.
    — Taylor Tobin, Southern Living, 5 Feb. 2026
  • For each lactate molecule produced by the body, one hydrogen ion is also formed.
    — Jeff Gaudette, Outside Online, 3 Oct. 2018
  • The first product of that reaction is a compound called carbonic acid, which soon gives up its hydrogen ion.
    — WIRED, 2 Nov. 2022
  • Further testing showed that the feet contained a molecular pump that moves around hydrogen ions, or protons, to make acid.
    — Veronique Greenwood, New York Times, 14 June 2018
  • At this point, lactate can’t grab its hydrogen ion to reduce the concentration of hydrogen in the muscle cell.
    — Jeff Gaudette, Outside Online, 3 Oct. 2018
  • When that carbon is absorbed, a series of chemical reactions takes place that produces more hydrogen ions and leads to more acidic waters.
    — Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, 4 Mar. 2019
  • The radio waves are calibrated to target just the less abundant material, in this case hydrogen ions.
    — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 28 Aug. 2017
  • Then the breakdown of muscle glycogen that produces energy also results in the making of lactate plus a hydrogen ion.
    — Kristen Rogers, CNN, 9 Aug. 2024
  • The enormous clouds emit large amounts of ultraviolet light with a spectral line produced by hydrogen ions, known as a Lyman-alpha line.
    — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 21 Sep. 2016
  • Excess electrons at the cathode stitch pairs of hydrogen ions into hydrogen gas (H2), which bubbles out of the water.
    — Byrobert F. Service, science.org, 15 Mar. 2023
  • After waiting for about 15 minutes, the scientists measured how many hydrogen ions had been produced to find the reaction rate.
    — Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2023
  • Mitochondria naturally have fewer hydrogen ions in their inner matrix than near their outer edge.
    — Corey Buhay, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Feb. 2024
  • The researchers have found a way to fine-tune these angstrom-scale pores to control how the material filters hydrogen ions, in order to produce proton beams with less scattering.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 18 Aug. 2025
  • When this happens, hydrogen ions escape into space, leaving Venus without the hydrogen, one of the two compounds needed for water.
    — Elizabeth Gamillo, Discover Magazine, 7 May 2024
  • Acid from citrus increases the hydrogen ion concentration in the solution, which results in the pectin molecules losing some charge.
    — Catherine Hu, Discover Magazine, 4 Aug. 2015
  • But hydrogen ions, single protons, have positive electric charges and naturally repel each other.
    — Tim Folger, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2018
  • At the cathode, catalysts split N2 molecules and prompt the hydrogen ions and electrons to react with nitrogen and make ammonia.
    — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 12 July 2018
  • The sun and all other stars generate light by nuclear fusion, smashing hydrogen ions together to form helium, a process that releases energy.
    — Tim Folger, Discover Magazine, 24 Oct. 2018
  • The anode, covered with a catalyst, splits water molecules into O2, hydrogen ions, and electrons.
    — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 12 July 2018
  • Antacids contain earth metals, including calcium, sodium, magnesium, and aluminum, that react with hydrogen ions to help neutralize stomach acid.
    — Sara Hoffman, Pharmd, Verywell Health, 2 July 2024
  • Since the 1880s, human activities have increased the ocean’s concentration of acidic hydrogen ions by more than 26 percent.
    — Lauren Leffer, Popular Science, 27 Aug. 2025
  • In the reaction, a molecule of hydrogen gas collides with one deuterium ion to produce a hydrogen ion and a heavy, deuterium-containing hydrogen molecule.
    — Elise Cutts, Scientific American, 4 Apr. 2023
  • The team’s success comes from re-engineering the fuel cell’s electrolyte, the ceramic layer that transports protons (hydrogen ions) to generate electricity.
    — Aman Tripathi, Interesting Engineering, 10 Aug. 2025
  • The excited hydrogen ions then slam into the more abundant deuterium ions, and resulting particles fly into the reactor's outer shell, generating heat and electricity.
    — Jay Bennett, Popular Mechanics, 28 Aug. 2017
  • As the carbon mixes into the ocean, chemical reactions in the water column produce more hydrogen ions and fewer carbonate ions, lowering pH levels and increasing acidity.
    — oregonlive, 24 Jan. 2020
  • Because of the angstrom-size pores in the material, the team discovered that UC-MAC was uniquely suited to turning molecular hydrogen ions into protons.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Proton therapy is a noninvasive radiation treatment in which hydrogen ions are accelerated through a cyclotron to form a high-energy beam used to destroy DNA in tumors.
    — IEEE Spectrum, 18 Aug. 2025
  • Meanwhile, on the tube’s outer surface, the second catalyst—which contains vanadium, nitrogen, and iron—causes the hydrogen ions, the electrons, and nitrogen molecules piped in separately to form ammonia, all at atmospheric pressure.
    — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, 6 Nov. 2019

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'hydrogen ion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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