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How do dissolved ionic compounds behave when they are mixed with water?

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chemical structure of cation exchanger — ion-exchange reaction Figure 1: Chemical structure of cation exchanger. The exchangeable ions are marked ⁺. The whole structure is permeated by solvent molecules, usually water (not shown).

When ionic compounds are mixed with water, they undergo a process called dissociation, where the rigid crystalline structure of the solid breaks apart into individual ions.12

This behavior is primarily driven by the polarity of water molecules. As an ionic solid dissolves, the water molecules surround the ions in a process known as hydration. Specifically:3
* The positive ends of water molecules are attracted to the anions.
* The negative ends of water molecules are attracted to the cations.

During this process, the strong forces that hold the ions together in the solid state are replaced by strong interactions between the water molecules and the ions. Once freed from the crystal lattice, these ions move about the solution with relative freedom. In aqueous solutions at normal temperatures, salts of strong acids and bases are typically considered completely dissociated into these hydrated ions up to their solubility limit.314