The Grotthuss mechanism is the mechanism by which an 'excess' proton or protonic defect diffuses through the hydrogen bond network of water molecules or other hydrogen-bonded liquids through the formation or cleavage of covalent bonds.
In his 1806 publication “Theory of decomposition of liquids by electrical currents”, Theodor Grotthuss proposed a theory of water conductivity. Grotthuss envisioned the electrolytic reaction as a sort of ‘bucket line’ where each oxygen atom simultaneously passes and receives a single hydrogen atom. 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. On its 200th anniversary, his article was reviewed by Cukierman.
Although Grotthuss was using an incorrect empirical formula of water, his description of the passing of protons through the cooperation of neighboring water molecules proved to be remarkably fortuitous.
Read more about Grotthuss Mechanism: Proton Transport Mechanism and Proton-hopping Mechanism, The Anomalous Diffusion of Protons
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