Strong acid

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search

In chemistry, a strong acid is an acid which ionises (splits) completely in a solution of water. It always loses a proton (A H+ when put in water. A weak acid does not always lose a proton, though; It can lose its proton, but not all the time[source?] They also have a very low pH, usually between 1 and 3. Many strong acids have a negative pKa value, which means they are very strong.

The six common strong acids are:

  1. Hydrochloric acid HCl
  2. Hydrobromic acid HBr
  3. Hydroiodic acid HI
  4. Sulfuric acid H2SO4
  5. Perchloric acid HClO4
  6. p-Toluenesulfonic acid: an organic soluble strong acid

Almost strong acids include:

  1. Nitric acid HNO3
  2. Chloric acid HClO3