In chemistry, ion association is a chemical reaction whereby ions of  opposite electric charge come together in solution to form a distinct chemical entity. Ion associates are classified, according to the number of ions that associate with each other, as ion pairs, ion triplets, etc. Ion pairs are also classified according to the nature of the interaction as contact, solvent-shared or solvent-separated. The most important factor to determine the extent of ion association is the dielectric constant of the solvent. Ion associates have been characterized by means of vibrational spectroscopy, as introduced by Niels Bjerrum, and dielectric-loss spectroscopy.