Acid Definition in Chemistry

An acid is a chemical species that donates protons or hydrogen ions and/or

accepts electrons. Most acids contain a hydrogen atom bonded that can release
(dissociate) to yield a cation and anion in water. The higher the concentration of
hydrogen ions produced by an acid, the higher its acidity and the lower the pH of the
solution.

The word acid comes from the Latin words acidus or acere, which mean "sour," since
one of the characteristics of acids in water is a sour taste (e.g., vinegar or lemon juice).

Properties of acids

1. They are liquids.

2. They are solutions of compounds in water.

3. If concentrated they can be corrosive.

4. Acids taste sour (for example, vinegar).

5. Turn blue litmus paper red - this is an easy test for an acid!

6. Usually react with metals to form salts.

7. Acids contain hydrogen ions.

8. Turn Universal Indicator from green to red, and have a pH less than 7.

Examples of acids: are vinegar (ethanoic acid) and lemon juice (citric acid)

Applications of acids
Acids exist universally in our life. There are both numerous kinds of natural acid
compounds with biological functions and massive synthesized acids which are used in
many ways.
In industry
Acids are fundamental reagents in treating almost all processes in today's industry.
Sulfuric acid, a diprotic acid, is the most widely used acid in industry, which is also the
most-produced industrial chemical in the world. It is mainly used in producing fertilizer,
detergent, batteries and dyes, as well as used in processing many products such like
removing impurities.[15]According to the statistics data in 2011, the annual production of
sulfuric acid was around 200 million tonnes in the world.[16]For example, phosphate
minerals react with sulfuric acid to produce phosphoric acid for the production of
phosphate fertilizers, and zinc is produced by dissolving zinc oxide into sulfuric acid,
purifying the solution and electrowinning.
In the chemical industry, acids react in neutralization reactions to produce salts. For
example, nitric acid reacts with ammonia to produce ammonium nitrate, a fertilizer.
Additionally, carboxylic acids can be esterified with alcohols, to produce esters.
Acids are often used to remove rust and other corrosion from metals in a process
known as pickling. They may be used as an electrolyte in a wet cell battery, such
as sulfuric acid in a car battery.
In food
Carbonated water (H2CO3 aqueous solution) is one of the main ingredients listed the
ingredient sheet of a can of Coca-Cola.
Tartaric acid is an important component of some commonly used foods like unripened
mangoes and tamarind. Natural fruits and vegetables also contain acids. Citric acid is
present in oranges, lemon and other citrus fruits. Oxalic acid is present in tomatoes,
spinach, and especially in carambola and rhubarb; rhubarb leaves and unripe
carambolas are toxic because of high concentrations of oxalic acid. Ascorbic
acid (Vitamin C) is an essential vitamin for the human body and is present in such foods
as amla (Indian gooseberry), lemon, citrus fruits, and guava.
Many acids can be found in various kinds of food as additives, as they alter their taste
and serve as preservatives. Phosphoric acid, for example, is a component
of cola drinks. Acetic acid is used in day-to-day life as vinegar. Citric acid is used as a
preservative in sauces and pickles.
Carbonic acid is one of the most common acid additive that is widely added in soft
drinks, such as Coca-Cola. During the manufacturing process of soft drinks, CO2 is
usually pressurized to dissolve in these drinks to generate carbonic acid. Carbonic acid
is very unstable and tend to decompose into water and CO2 in normal temperature and
pressure. Therefore, when we open the bottles or cans of these kinds of soft drinks,
CO2 bubbles come out and thus we feel 'sparks'.[17]
Certain acids are used as drugs. Acetylsalicylic acid (Aspirin) is used as a pain killer
and for bringing down fevers.
In human bodies
Acids play important roles in the human body. The hydrochloric acid present in the
stomach aids digestion by breaking down large and complex food molecules. Amino
acids are required for synthesis of proteins required for growth and repair of body
tissues. Fatty acids are also required for growth and repair of body tissues. Nucleic
acids are important for the manufacturing of DNA and RNA and transmitting of traits to
offspring through genes. Carbonic acid is important for maintenance of pH equilibrium in
the body.
Human bodies contain a variety of organic and inorganic compounds, among
those dicarboxylic acids play an essential role in many biological behaviors. Many of
those acids are amino acids which mainly serve as materials for the synthesis of
proteins.[18] Other weak acids serve as buffers with their conjugate bases to keep the
body's pH from undergoing large scale changes which would be harmful to cells.[19] The
rest of the dicarboxylic acids also participate in the synthesis of various biologically
important compounds in human bodies.
Acid catalysis
Main article: Acid catalysis

Acids are used as catalysts in industrial and organic chemistry; for example, sulfuric
acid is used in very large quantities in the alkylation process to produce gasoline. Some
acids, such as sulfuric, phosphoric, and hydrochloric acids, also
effect dehydration and condensation reactions. In biochemistry, many enzymes employ
acid catalysis.

Nucleic acids

 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

 Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

Common acids
Mineral acids (inorganic acids)

 Hydrogen halides and their solutions: hydrofluoric acid (HF), hydrochloric

acid (HCl), hydrobromic acid (HBr), hydroiodic acid (HI)
 Halogen oxoacids: hypochlorous acid (HClO), chlorous acid (HClO2), chloric
acid (HClO3), perchloric acid (HClO4), and corresponding analogs for bromine and
iodine
o Hypofluorous acid (HFO), the only known oxoacid for fluorine.
 Sulfuric acid (H2SO4)
 Fluorosulfuric acid (HSO3F)
 Nitric acid (HNO3)
 Phosphoric acid (H3PO4)
 Fluoroantimonic acid (HSbF6)
 Fluoroboric acid (HBF4)
 Hexafluorophosphoric acid (HPF6)
 Chromic acid (H2CrO4)
 Boric acid (H3BO3)
Sulfonic acids
A sulfonic acid has the general formula RS(=O)2–OH, where R is an organic radical.

 Methanesulfonic acid (or mesylic acid, CH3SO3H)

 Ethanesulfonic acid (or esylic acid, CH3CH2SO3H)
 Benzenesulfonic acid (or besylic acid, C6H5SO3H)
 p-Toluenesulfonic acid (or tosylic acid, CH3C6H4SO3H)
 Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (or triflic acid, CF3SO3H)
 Polystyrene sulfonic acid (sulfonated polystyrene, [CH2CH(C6H4)SO3H]n)
Carboxylic acids
A carboxylic acid has the general formula R-C(O)OH, where R is an organic radical.
The carboxyl group -C(O)OH contains a carbonyl group, C=O, and a hydroxyl group, O-
H.

 Acetic acid (CH3COOH)

 Citric acid (C6H8O7)
 Formic acid (HCOOH)
 Gluconic acid HOCH2-(CHOH)4-COOH
 Lactic acid (CH3-CHOH-COOH)
 Oxalic acid (HOOC-COOH)
 Tartaric acid (HOOC-CHOH-CHOH-COOH)
Halogenated carboxylic acids
Halogenation at alpha position increases acid strength, so that the following acids are
all stronger than acetic acid.

 Fluoroacetic acid
 Trifluoroacetic acid
 Chloroacetic acid
 Dichloroacetic acid
 Trichloroacetic acid
Vinylogous carboxylic acids
Normal carboxylic acids are the direct union of a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group.
In vinylogous carboxylic acids, a carbon-carbon double bond separates the carbonyl
and hydroxyl groups.

 Ascorbic acid
Nucleic acids

 Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

 Ribonucleic acid (RNA)