[dontwanttofail]

Ok so when you protonate something you are adding H+ to it.  H+ is positive because it is lacking its only electron.  IF thats the case, how does it make a covalent bond to what you are protonating?  Or is it just an ionic bond?

I'm very confused.

So for example...

say you had ethane, CH3CH3, could you protonate one of the Carbons?  They all ready have a full octet so they wouldn't make another bond, but are you really making a bond here?/

THanks

[nj_bartel]

You (typically) only protonate things with lone pairs or double bonds.

[UG]

I'm not sure what you are asking. But I'll have a guess, a dative bond is one in which one atom donates both bonding electrons. I think this is what you are thinking about.  

[dontwanttofail]

The reason I ask is because I'm to model a reaction where the reactant is a phenol where one of the C are protonated and I was kind of confused how that would happen... do I have to get rid of one of the double bonds of the phenol in order to protonate one of the Carbons?  (I think it said protonate the 4th Carbon, which I'm assuming is the para C)

[BeepoGirl]

I think the carbon would be protonated by losing a double bond in the ring, the electrons come from the pi bond to make the new c-h bond, leaving a postive charge on that side of the ring. And the 4th would be the para carbon.