Why is NH4OH unstable?

Why is NH4OH unstable?


What do you mean by unstable?

NH4OH does not really exist as such. There is NH3, ammonia, which is a weak base, meaning that in aqueous solution, only a few, typically something like 1 in 100 molecules of NH3 take a proton from H2O and become NH4+, this means a hydroxide ion OH- is left behind, together, but they are never directly joined together.
NH4+ and OH- add up to NH4OH, however 99 out of 100 molecules will simply be ammonia NH3 molecules dissolved in water, forming hydrogen bonds with water. However water molecules a bit more attracted to other water molecules than they are to ammonia molecules, So ammonia molecules from a solution of ammonia quite easily escape into the air, which is why you can smell ammonia solution so easily and the solution always has a tendency to become less concentrated over time (perhaps this is what you meant).

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