Science

Math

Humanities

... and beyond

Socratic Meta
Featured Answers

Topics

What occurs when sulfuric acid is mixed with sodium nitrate? What occurs when sulfuric and nitric acids are mixed?

1 Answer

Jan 11, 2016

$H_{2} S O_{4} (a q) + N O_{3}^{-} ⇌ H S O_{4}^{-} + H N O_{3} (a q)$ $H_2SO_4(aq) + NO_3^(-) rightleftharpoons HSO_4^(-) + HNO_3(aq)$

Explanation:

Of course there would be proton transfer.

When sulfuric acid is mixed with 1/2 equiv nitric acid, the nitronium ion is produced:

$2 H_{2} S O_{4} + H N O_{3} \to N O_{2}^{+} + 2 H S O_{4}^{-} + H_{2} O$ $2H_2SO_4 + HNO_3 rarr NO_2^(+) + 2HSO_4^(-) + H_2O$

This mixture of 2 equiv. sulfuric and nitric acids is the so-called nitrating mixture used to nitrate aryl reagents.

Related questions

See all questions in Arrhenius Acids and Bases

Impact of this question

2466 views around the world

You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License