Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis, type of chemical reaction in which a molecule of water, formula
HOH, reacts with a molecule of a substance AB, in which A and B represent either
atoms or groups of atoms. In the reaction the water molecule breaks into the
fragments H+ and OH-; and the molecule AB breaks into
A+ and B-; the fragments then join to give the final
products AOH and HB. This kind of reaction is called a double
decomposition or an exchange.