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.