Hydroxide
The hydroxides of the transition metals and post-transition metals usually have the metal in the +2 (M = Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn) or +3 (M = Fe, Ru, Rh, Ir) oxidation state. None are soluble in water, and many are poorly defined. One complicating feature of the hydroxides is their tendency to undergo further condensation to the oxides, a process called olation. Hydroxides of metals in the +1 oxidation state are also poorly defined or unstable. For example, silver hydroxide Ag(OH) decomposes spontaneously to the oxide (AgO). Copper(I) and gold(I) hydroxides are also unstable, although stable adducts of CuOH and AuOH are known. The polymeric compounds M(OH) and M(OH) are in general prepared by increasing the pH of an aqueous solutions of the corresponding metal cations until the hydroxide precipitates out of solution. On the converse, the hydroxides dissolve in acidic solution. Zinc hydroxide Zn(OH) is amphoteric, forming the tetrahydroxidozincate ion in strongly alkaline solution.
Sodium hydroxide
The monohydrate crystallizes in the space group Pbca, with cell dimensions a = 1.1825, b = 0.6213, c = 0.6069 nm. The atoms are arranged in a hydrargillite-like layer structure /O Na O O Na O/... Each sodium atom is surrounded by six oxygen atoms, three each from hydroxyl anions and three from water molecules. The hydrogen atoms of the hydroxyls form strong bonds with oxygen atoms within each O layer. Adjacent O layers are held together by hydrogen bonds between water molecules.