Nitric acid

Nitric Acid: Formula & Structure Nitric acid is a substance that we encounter more often than we think. You have encountered nitric acid if you have ever bought a bag of fertilizer or been caught in the rain. The manufacturing of fertilizer is actually the most common use of nitric acid. Perhaps more interestingly, rainwater is naturally acidic, meaning there is a small concentration of nitric acid present in it. Nitric acid is a highly corrosive acidic substance. Its physical state is a colorless liquid, but sometimes it may have a yellowish tint. Nitric acid dissolves metals such as iron, copper, and silver. It is a strong oxidizing agent, a substance that readily accepts electrons from another substance. Its chemical formula is HNO3, so it has one hydrogen (H) atom, one nitrogen (N) atom, and three oxygen (O) atoms. All three oxygen (O) atoms are bonded to the nitrogen (N) atom. The nitrogen atom carries a charge of +1, and one oxygen atom carries a charge of -1. A positive charge on an atom indicates that it is less electronegative, and a negative charge on an atom indicates that it is more electronegative. Nitrogen is therefore less electronegative than the oxygen atoms because nitrogen carries a positive charge. The structure of nitric acid is planar, meaning the chemical structure is flat. There are two major resonance forms of nitric acid. Resonance form occurs when there are multiple ways of drawing the Lewis structure of a compound. A Lewis structure is a diagram...

Uses of Nitric Acid Nitric acid is part of the inorganic acids. This acid is a colourless fuming liquid when pure but turns yellowish due to the collection of nitrogen oxides. It is extremely corrosive and toxic. Nitric acid is soluble in water and it is also a strong oxidizing agent. It reacts with metals, oxides, and hydroxides, forming nitrate salts. Nitric acid also called the spirit of nitre or aqua fortis comes with the molecular formula of HNO 3 which consists of three oxygen atoms, one nitrogen atom and one hydrogen atom. Nitric acid is usually obtained by the Nitric Acid Uses Like ammonia, one of the main uses of nitric acid is in the preparation of fertilizers. Nitric acid is also a good oxidizing agent and is used for manufacturing other inorganic compounds. However, this chemical compound has a lot of other uses. It finds its applications in industries as well as in our everyday life. Let’s look at some of them. • Industrial Uses of Nitric Acid • Nitric Acid in Fertilizers • Nitric Acid in Daily Life Industrial Uses of Nitric Acid Nitric acid is the building block chemical for the production of many other chemical compounds. It is used in manufacturing several types of Other uses include, production of nitrate salts, making dyes, coal tar products and drugs. It is also used mostly for the purification of precious metals like platinum, gold, and silver. Nitric Acid in Fertilizers In fertilizer production, Nitric acid is used for manufacturing different types of ...

Contents • 1 Physical and chemical properties • 1.1 Contamination with nitrogen dioxide • 1.2 Fuming nitric acid • 1.3 Anhydrous nitric acid • 1.4 Structure and bonding • 2 Reactions • 2.1 Acid-base properties • 2.2 Reactions with metals • 2.3 Reactions with non-metals • 2.4 Xanthoproteic test • 3 Production • 3.1 Laboratory synthesis • 4 Uses • 4.1 Precursor to organic nitrogen compounds • 4.2 Use as an oxidant • 4.3 Rocket propellant • 4.4 Niche uses • 4.4.1 Metal processing • 4.4.2 Analytical reagent • 4.4.3 Woodworking • 4.4.4 Etchant and cleaning agent • 4.4.5 Nuclear fuel reprocessing • 5 Safety • 5.1 Use in acid attacks • 6 History • 7 Notes • 8 References • 9 External links Physical and chemical properties Commercially available nitric acid is an HNO 3. This solution has a boiling temperature of 120.5 °C (249 °F) at 1 atm. It is known as "concentrated nitric acid". The azeotrope of nitric acid and water is a colourless liquid at room temperature. Two solid hydrates are known: the monohydrate HNO 3·H 2O or oxonium nitrate [H 3O] +[NO 3] − and the trihydrate HNO 3·3H 2O. An older density scale is occasionally seen, with concentrated nitric acid specified as 42 Contamination with nitrogen dioxide Nitric acid is subject to 4 HNO 3 → 2 H 2O + 4 NO 2 + O 2 This reaction may give rise to some non-negligible variations in the vapor pressure above the liquid because the nitrogen oxides produced dissolve partly or completely in the acid. The nitrogen dioxide ( NO 2) and/or d...

• Strong acids completely dissociate into their ions in water, while weak acids only partially dissociate. • There are only a few (7) strong acids, so many people choose to memorize them. All the other acids are weak. • The strong acids are hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, hydrobromic acid, hydroiodic acid, perchloric acid, and chloric acid. • The only weak acid formed by the reaction between hydrogen and a halogen is hydrofluoric acid (HF). While technically a weak acid, hydrofluoric acid is Strong Acids Note the reaction arrow in the chemical equation points both directions. Only about 1% of ethanoic acid converts to ions, while the remainder is ethanoic acid. The reaction proceeds in both directions. The back reaction is more favorable than the forward reaction, so ions readily change back to weak acid and water. Sources • Housecroft, C. E.; Sharpe, A. G. (2004). Inorganic Chemistry (2nd ed.). Prentice Hall. ISBN 978-0-13-039913-7. • Porterfield, William W. (1984). Inorganic Chemistry. Addison-Wesley. ISBN 0-201-05660-7. • Trummal, Aleksander; Lipping, Lauri; et al. (2016). "Acidity of strong acids in water and dimethyl sulfoxide". J. Phys. Chem. A. 120 (20): 3663–3669. doi:10.1021/acs.jpca.6b02253 Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. "List of Strong and Weak Acids." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/list-of-strong-and-weak-acids-603642. Helmenstine, Anne Marie, Ph.D. (2023, April 5). List of Strong and Weak Acids. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/l...