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Because he manages to dismantle the molecules of oxidized iron, cleaning the rusty parts. The secret is that lemon juice breaks up the “marriage” between iron and oxygen atoms that form rust. This happens because the liquid of the fruit is an acid, which, in contact with iron oxide molecules – the popular “rust” -, tends to steal oxygen from them to combine it with some of the hydrogen atoms that the juice carries. One of the results of this process is the formation of water molecules. The other is a compound of iron and acid that takes the place of oxidized iron and, fortunately, is quite vulnerable. “This other substance resulting from the reaction is soluble. A wash with water is enough for the compound to disappear”, says chemist Flavio Maron Vichi, from the University of São Paulo (USP).
The juice drops clean the oxidized iron and produce a substance that comes out in the water.
1. Lemon juice is an acid formed by molecules with six carbon atoms, eight hydrogen atoms and seven oxygen atoms. When a few drops of juice fall on the rust stain, formed by iron and oxygen atoms, a chemical reaction begins.
2. In this reaction, some hydrogen atoms in the juice combine with oxygen atoms in the rust. This junction generates two products: some molecules of water (H2O) and others of a compound of iron, carbon and hydrogen. It’s a kind of goo that comes off with water. A damp cloth is enough to remove the stain.