ANSWERS: 11
  • Sulphuric Acid
  • Perchloric Acid is currently the strongest known acid. http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/P/Pe/Perchloric_acid.htm
  • After reading the additional answer, I did a little research and no one source lists one specific acid as the most corrosive but Hydrofluoric Acid is by far the best candidate if you're seeking the most corrosive. It is so corrosive it can eat through glass.
  • "Perchloric acid has the formula HClO4 and is a colorless liquid soluble in water. It is a strong (Any of various water-soluble compounds having a sour taste and capable of turning litmus red and reacting with a base to form a salt) acid like (Click link for more info and facts about sulfuric) sulfuric or (Acid used especially in the production of fertilizers and explosives and rocket fuels) nitric acid. M.p.-17°C, B.p.181°C, r.d.1.664. It is a superacid, but it is not the stongest Brønsted-Lowrey acid (which is fluorosulfuric acid)." This was taken verbatum from the website Mr. Cox mentioned.
  • If you mean corrosive to inorganic elements, probably sulfuric acid. As far as human flesh goes, there is no question that HF (hydrogen fluoride / hydrofluoric acid) is the most corrosive. First, HF causes no painful burns on contact which allows it to seep deeply into human tissue without notice. It may take hours for HF exposure to become apparent. The fluoride cation combines with the calcium in bones to dissociate calcium, causing the bones to essentially slowly liquefy. Local skin, muscle and fat necrosis follows soon after. Usually local and IV infusions of calcium gluconate are used to stop the reaction but often it is far too late, and the egregious necrosis requires limb amputation.
  • HF is a good choice when considering the body, but the most corrosive acid is most probably "magic acid" which is a mixture of HFSO3 and SbF5. Though there is no scale for corrision, the common scale for superacid strength, Hammett(Ho) list magic acid between -17 and -27. Compared to conc. sulfuric acid which is taken as -12.1.
  • Sorry guys, only one of you was ACTUALLY right. H2SO4, Sulfuric Acid is the most corrosive on contact with human flesh. HF is a weak acid, meaning that its equilibrium is shifted only minorly to the product side, meaning very little H+ is produced, whereas the diprotic acid H2SO4 is a strong acid, meaning it goes to completion, when speaking of dissociation into the hydrogen ions and sulfate ion. And no, this isnt just because of the fact that it is diprotic; phosphoric acid, H3PO4, is triprotic but still isnt as corrosive. HF compared to ANY strong acid isnt even a comparison. It is the only halogen acid that isnt a strong acid...HI>HBr>HCl
  • The corrosive power of an acid is not determined by its strength and so there isn't a very easy way to answer this question, since we have to determine which part of the acid is actually doing the damage. For hydrofluoric acid, the danger to organic compounds is not so much the hydronium ion but actually the very electronegative Fluoride.
  • according to industry, when using a steal reactor, especially a sealed one, hydrochloric acid is more corrosive the sulfuric acid because of the HCl gas that is giving off. There for it would seem as though HCl is more corrosive the sulfuric acid.
  • Out of all the acids of the entire world, carborane superacids are the strongest and the most gentle. But carborane acids are very new and I dont think anyone will be able to get their hands on it right now, even if they have a license. It is very hard to make, also. But you want a very strong acid that you can get your hands on, fluorosulfuric acid is what you'll want. It was the strongest acid in the world until carborane superacids came into existence. Fluorosulfuric acid is a thousand times stronger than sulfuric acid. So if you really want it, look in your yellowbook under chemistry, you should find it. Good luck :] Carborane Acids: http://www.newsroom.ucr.edu/cgi-bin/display.cgi?id=926
  • There is a big difference between strongest which is measured by the protons given off, and the most corrosive. Corrosiveness is related to the negatively-charged part of the acid. Hydrofluoric acid (HF), for example, is so corrosive it dissolves glass. However when looking at the technical term for strongest acid, carborane superacids are hundreds of times stronger than fluorosulfuric acid and over a million times stronger than concentrated sulfuric acid. Also maddock, the way you worded that scares me.

Copyright 2023, Wired Ivy, LLC

Answerbag | Terms of Service | Privacy Policy