Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Hydrofluoric
acid
:
An
aqueous
solution of
hydrogen fluoride (HF)
. Unlike
hydrochloric acid
,
hydrobromic acid
, and
hydroiodic acid
, hydrofluoric
acid
contains little
H
3
O
+
F
-
, because
HF
(
p
K
a
3.2) is a weaker
acid
than
H
3
O
+
(
p
K
a
-1.78). Hydrofluoric
acid
is notorious for its ability to dissolve glass. This not because hydrofluoric
acid
is a strong
acid
, but instead because the Si-F
covalent bond
is among the strongest of all
covalent bonds
known.
Hydrofluoric
acid
dissolves glass, so it must be
stored a container made of plastic (such as
Teflon
).
Glass that has been etched by hydrofluoric
acid
.
Related terms:
Hydrogen chloride
,
HCl
,
hydrochloric acid
,
muriatic acid
,
hydrogen bromide
,
hydrobromic acid
,
hydrogen iodide
,
hydroiodic acid
,
sulfuric acid
,
nitric acid
,
phosphoric acid
,
mineral acid
,
acetic acid
,
carboxylic acid
,
sulfonic acid
,
Lewis acid
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