Dithionic acid
Chemical compound
Dithionic acid, H2S2O6, is the inorganic compound with the formula H2S2O6. It is the doubly protonated derivative of dithionate, a well-characterized dianion. Dithionic acid is mainly observed and characterized as an aqueous solution.
01Synthesis
Dithionates can be made by oxidizing a sulfite (from the +4 to the +5 oxidation state), but on a larger scale they are made by oxidizing a cooled aqueous solution of sulfur dioxide with manganese dioxide:
- 2 MnO2 + 3 SO2 → MnS2O6 + MnSO4
The manganese dithionate solution formed can then be converted to dithionate salts of other metals by metathesis reactions:
- Ba2+ (aq) + MnS2O6 (aq) + MnSO4 (aq) → BaSO4 (s)↓ + BaS2O6 · 2 H2O (aq)
Concentrated solutions of dithionic acid can subsequently be obtained treating a barium dithionate solution with sulfuric acid:
- BaS2O6 (aq) + H2SO4 (aq) → H2S2O6 (aq) + BaSO4 (s)↓
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Dithionic acid”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Dithionic-acid-2D.png by Ben Mills, Public domain
Fathomly is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Wikimedia Foundation. Spotted a problem? Tell us.
