Chemistry
(a) Which property of sulphuric acid accounts for it's use as a dehydrating agent?
(b) Concentrated sulphuric acid is both an oxidizing agent and a non-volatile acid. Write one equation each to illustrate the above mentioned properties of sulphuric acid.
Answer
(a) Sulphuric acid is a powerful dehydrating agent due to it's strong affinity towards water.
(b) (i) Oxidising agent : The oxidising property of concentrated sulphuric acid is due to the fact that on thermal decomposition it yields nascent oxygen [O].
H2SO4 ⟶ H2O + SO2 + [O]
Nascent oxygen oxidises non-metals, metals and inorganic compounds.
C + 2H2SO4 ⟶ CO2 + 2H2O + 2SO2 ↑
(ii) Non-volatile nature : It has a high boiling point so it is considered to be a non-volatile acid. It is, therefore, used for preparing volatile acids like hydrochloric acid, nitric acid and acidic acid from their salts by double decomposition.
NaCl + H2SO4 ⟶ NaHSO4 + HCl
Related Questions
Give equations for the action of sulphuric acid on —
(i) Potassium hydrogen carbonate.
(ii) Sulphur
In the manufacture of sulphuric acid by the Contact process, give the equations for the conversion of sulphur trioxide to sulphuric acid.
Give a balanced equation for the conversion of zinc oxide to zinc sulphate.
What property of conc. H2SO4 is made use of in each of the following cases? Give an equation for the reaction in each case:
(a) in the production of HCl gas when it reacts with a chloride,
(b) in the preparation of CO from HCOOH.
(c) as a source of hydrogen by diluting it and adding a strip of magnesium.
(d) in the preparation of sulphur dioxide by warming a mixture of conc. sulphuric acid and copper-turnings.
(e) hydrogen chloride gas is passed through concentrated sulphuric acid.
(f) it's reaction with (i) Ethanol (ii) Carbon.