Hydrolysis
A reaction in which a bond is cleaved by water, with the H and OH fragments adding to the two products.
Formula / equation
AB + H₂O → AOH + BH
Unit
Dimensionless
In depth
Hydrolysis is the reverse of condensation and is usually accelerated by acid or base catalysis, or by enzymes in living systems. Salts of weak acids or bases hydrolyse in water to give non-neutral solutions, and hydrolysis is the digestive process that breaks food polymers into absorbable units.
Examples in the real world
Sucrose hydrolysing to glucose and fructose; an ester refluxed with dilute acid giving back its acid and alcohol.