Acid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Zinc, a typical metal, reacting with hydrochloric acid, a typical acid

An acid is a molecule or ion capable of donating a hydron (proton or hydrogen ion H+), or,
alternatively, capable of forming a covalent bondwith an electron pair (a Lewis acid).[1]
The first category of acids is the proton donors or Brønsted acids. In the special case of aqueous
solutions, proton donors form the hydronium ion H3O+ and are known as Arrhenius
acids. Brønsted and Lowry generalized the Arrhenius theory to include non-aqueous solvents. A
Brønsted or Arrhenius acid usually contains a hydrogen atom bonded to a chemical structure that
is still energetically favorable after loss of H+.
Aqueous Arrhenius acids have characteristic properties which provide a practical description of
an acid.[2] Acids form aqueous solutions with a sour taste, can turn blue litmus red, and react
with bases and certain metals (like calcium) to form salts. The word acid is derived from
the Latin acidus/acēre meaning sour.[3] An aqueous solution of an acid has a pH less than 7 and
is colloquially also referred to as 'acid' (as in 'dissolved in acid'), while the strict definition refers
only to the solute.[1] A lower pH means a higher acidity, and thus a higher concentration
of positive hydrogen ions in the solution. Chemicals or substances having the property of an acid
are said to be acidic.
Common aqueous acids include hydrochloric acid (a solution of hydrogen chloride which is found
in gastric acid in the stomach and activates digestive enzymes), acetic acid (vinegar is a dilute
aqueous solution of this liquid), sulfuric acid (used in car batteries), and citric acid (found in citrus
fruits). As these examples show, acids (in the colloquial sense) can be solutions or pure
substances, and can be derived from acids (in the strict[1] sense) that are solids, liquids, or
gases. Strong acids and some concentrated weak acids are corrosive, but there are exceptions
such as carboranes and boric acid.
The second category of acids are Lewis acids, which form a covalent bond with an electron pair.
An example is boron trifluoride (BF3), whose boron atom has a vacant orbital which can form a
covalent bond by sharing a lone pair of electrons on an atom in a base, for example the nitrogen
atom in ammonia (NH3). Lewis considered this as a generalization of the Brønsted definition, so
that an acid is a chemical species that accepts electron pairs either directly or by releasing
protons (H+) into the solution, which then accept electron pairs. However, hydrogen chloride,
acetic acid, and most other Brønsted-Lowry acids cannot form a covalent bond with an electron
pair and are therefore not Lewis acids.[4] Conversely, many Lewis acids are not Arrhenius or
Brønsted-Lowry acids. In modern terminology, an acid is implicitly a Brønsted acid and not a
Lewis acid, since chemists almost always refer to a Lewis acid explicitly as a Lewis
Chemical characteristics
Monoprotic acids
Monoprotic acids, also known as monobasic acids, are those acids that are able to donate
one proton per molecule during the process of dissociation (sometimes called ionization)
Common examples of monoprotic acids in mineral acids include hydrochloric acid (HCl) and nitric
acid (HNO3). On the other hand, for organic acids the term mainly indicates the presence of
one carboxylic acid group and sometimes these acids are known as monocarboxylic acid.
Examples in organic acids include formic acid (HCOOH), acetic acid(CH3COOH) and benzoic
acid (C6H5COOH).

Polyprotic acids
Polyprotic acids, also known as polybasic acids, are able to donate more than one proton per
acid molecule, in contrast to monoprotic acids that only donate one proton per molecule. Specific
types of polyprotic acids have more specific names, such as diprotic (or dibasic) acid (two
potential protons to donate), and triprotic (or tribasic) acid (three potential protons to donate).

Neutralization

Hydrochloric acid (in beaker) reacting with ammonia fumes to produce ammonium chloride (white smoke).

Neutralization is the reaction between an acid and a base, producing a salt and neutralized base;
for example, hydrochloric acid and sodium hydroxide form sodium chloride and water:
HCl(aq) + NaOH(aq) → H2O(l) + NaCl(aq)
Neutralization is the basis of titration, where a pH indicator shows equivalence point when the
equivalent number of moles of a base have been added to an acid. It is often wrongly assumed
that neutralization should result in a solution with pH 7.0, which is only the case with similar acid
and base strengths during a reaction.
Neutralization with a base weaker than the acid results in a weakly acidic salt. An example is the
weakly acidic ammonium chloride, which is produced from the strong acid hydrogen chloride and
the weak base ammonia. Conversely, neutralizing a weak acid with a strong base gives a weakly
basic salt, e.g. sodium fluoride from hydrogen fluoride and sodium hydroxide.

Applications of acids
Acids exist universally in our life. There are both numerous kinds of natural acid compounds with
biological functions and massive synthesized acids which are used in many ways.
In industry
Acids are fundamental reagents in treating almost all processes in today's industry. Sulfuric acid,
a diprotic acid, is the most widely used acid in industry, which is also the most-produced
industrial chemical in the world. It is mainly used in producing fertilizer, detergent, batteries and
dyes, as well as used in processing many products such like removing impurities.[15] According to
the statistics data in 2011, the annual production of sulfuric acid was around 200 million tonnes in
the world.[16] For example, phosphate minerals react with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric
acid for the production of phosphate fertilizers, and zinc is produced by dissolving zinc oxide into
sulfuric acid, purifying the solution and electrowinning.
In the chemical industry, acids react in neutralization reactions to produce salts. For
example, nitric acid reacts with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer.
Additionally, carboxylic acids can be esterified with alcohols, to produce esters.
Acids are often used to remove rust and other corrosion from metals in a process known
as pickling. They may be used as an electrolyte in a wet cell battery, such as sulfuric acid in a car
battery.

In food

Carbonated water (H2CO3 aqueous solution) is one of the main ingredients listed the ingredient sheet of a
can of Coca-Cola.

Tartaric acid is an important component of some commonly used foods like unripened mangoes
and tamarind. Natural fruits and vegetables also contain acids. Citric acid is present in oranges,
lemon and other citrus fruits. Oxalic acid is present in tomatoes, spinach, and especially
in carambola and rhubarb; rhubarb leaves and unripe carambolas are toxic because of high
concentrations of oxalic acid. Ascorbic acid(Vitamin C) is an essential vitamin for the human
body and is present in such foods as amla (Indian gooseberry), lemon, citrus fruits, and guava.
Many acids can be found in various kinds of food as additives, as they alter their taste and serve
as preservatives. Phosphoric acid, for example, is a component of cola drinks. Acetic acid is
used in day-to-day life as vinegar. Citric acid is used as a preservative in sauces and pickles.
Carbonic acid is one of the most common acid additive that is widely added in soft drinks, such
as Coca-Cola. During the manufacturing process of soft drinks, CO2 is usually pressurized to
dissolve in these drinks to generate carbonic acid. Carbonic acid is very unstable and tend to
decompose into water and CO2 in normal temperature and pressure. Therefore, when we open
the bottles or cans of these kinds of soft drinks, CO2 bubbles come out and thus we feel
'sparks'.[17]
Certain acids are used as drugs. Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) is used as a pain killer and for
bringing down fevers.

In human bodies
Acids play important roles in the human body. The hydrochloric acid present in the stomach aids
digestion by breaking down large and complex food molecules. Amino acids are required for
synthesis of proteins required for growth and repair of body tissues. Fatty acids are also required
for growth and repair of body tissues. Nucleic acids are important for the manufacturing of DNA
and RNA and transmitting of traits to offspring through genes. Carbonic acid is important for
maintenance of pH equilibrium in the body.
Human bodies contain a variety of organic and inorganic compounds, among those dicarboxylic
acids play an essential role in many biological behaviors. Many of those acids are amino
acids which mainly serve as materials for the synthesis of proteins.[18] Other weak acids serve as
buffers with their conjugate bases to keep the body's pH from undergoing large scale changes
which would be harmful to cells.[19] The rest of the dicarboxylic acids also participate in the
synthesis of various biologically important compounds in human bodies.

Acid catalysis
Main article: Acid catalysis

Acids are used as catalysts in industrial and organic chemistry; for example, sulfuric acid is used
in very large quantities in the alkylation process to produce gasoline. Some acids, such as
sulfuric, phosphoric, and hydrochloric acids, also effect dehydration and condensation reactions.
In biochemistry, many enzymes employ acid catalysis.[20]

Common acids
Mineral acids (inorganic acids)

 Hydrogen halides and their solutions: hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric

acid (HCl), hydrobromic acid (HBr), hydroiodic acid (HI)
 Halogen oxoacids: hypochlorous acid (HClO), chlorous acid (HClO2), chloric
acid (HClO3), perchloric acid (HClO4), and corresponding analogs for bromine and iodine
 Hypofluorous acid (HFO), the only known oxoacid for fluorine.
 Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
 Fluorosulfuric acid (HSO3F)
 Nitric acid (HNO3)
 Phosphoric acid (H3PO4)
 Fluoroantimonic acid (HSbF6)
 Fluoroboric acid (HBF4)
 Hexafluorophosphoric acid (HPF6)
 Chromic acid (H2CrO4)
 Boric acid (H3BO3)