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Phosphoric Acid - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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21 views2 pages

Phosphoric Acid - Britannica Online Encyclopedia

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Aboody Wahdain
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© © All Rights Reserved
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9/3/23, 12:47 PM phosphoric acid -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

phosphoric acid
phosphoric acid, also called orthophosphoric acid, (H3PO4), the most important oxygen
acid of phosphorus, used to make phosphate salts for fertilizers. It is also used in dental
cements, in the preparation of albumin derivatives, and in the sugar and textile industries. It
serves as an acidic, fruitlike flavouring in food products.

Pure phosphoric acid is a crystalline solid (melting point 42.35° C, or 108.2° F); in less
concentrated form it is a colourless syrupy liquid. The crude acid is prepared from phosphate
rock, while acid of higher purity is made from white phosphorus.

Phosphoric acid forms three classes of salts corresponding to replacement of one, two, or three
hydrogen atoms. Among the important phosphate salts are: sodium dihydrogen phosphate
(NaH2PO4), used for control of hydrogen ion concentration (acidity) of solutions; disodium
hydrogen phosphate (Na2HPO4), used in water treatment as a precipitant for highly charged
metal cations; trisodium phosphate (Na3PO4), used in soaps and detergents; calcium
dihydrogen phosphate or calcium superphosphate (Ca[H2PO4]2), a major fertilizer ingredient;
calcium monohydrogen phosphate (CaHPO4), used as a conditioning agent for salts and
sugars.

Phosphoric acid molecules interact under suitable conditions, often at high temperatures, to
form larger molecules (usually with loss of water). Thus, diphosphoric, or pyrophosphoric,
acid (H4P2O7) is formed from two molecules of phosphoric acid, less one molecule of water.
It is the simplest of a homologous series of long chain molecules called polyphosphoric acids,
with the general formula H(HPO3)nOH, in which n = 2, 3, 4, . . . . Metaphosphoric acids,
(HPO3)n, in which n = 3, 4, 5, . . ., are another class of polymeric phosphoric acids. The
known metaphosphoric acids are characterized by cyclic molecular structures. The term
metaphosphoric acid is used also to refer to a viscous, sticky substance that is a mixture of
both long chain and ring forms of (HPO3)n. The various polymeric forms of phosphoric acid
are also prepared by hydration of phosphorus oxides.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Erik Gregersen.

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9/3/23, 12:47 PM phosphoric acid -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia

Citation Information
Article Title: phosphoric acid
Website Name: Encyclopaedia Britannica
Publisher: Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Date Published: 22 July 2023
URL: https://www.britannica.comhttps://www.britannica.com/science/phosphoric-acid
Access Date: September 03, 2023

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