Of the hydrogen halides, only HF is a weak acid. Give a possible explanation.
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Step 1: The acidic strength of hydrogen halides is determined by the stability of the resulting ions when the hydrogen halide donates a proton. Show more…
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Madhur L.
Explain why HF is a weak acid, whereas HCl, HBr, and HI are all strong acids.
In dilute aqueous solution $\mathrm{HF}$ acts as a weak acid. However, pure liquid HF (boiling point $=19.5^{\circ} \mathrm{C} )$ is a strong acid. In liquid HF, HNO_ acts like and accepts protons. The acidity of liquid HF can be increased by adding one of several inorganic fluorides that are Lewis acids and accept $\mathrm{F}^{-}$ ion (for example, $\mathrm{BF}_{3}$ or $\mathrm{SbF}_{5} ) .$ Write balanced chemical equations for the reaction of pure $\mathrm{HNO}_{3}$ with pure $\mathrm{HF}$ and of pure $\mathrm{HF}$ with $\mathrm{BF}_{3}$
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