Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 16, 2026

Tuning the Acidity of Pt/ CNTs Catalysts for Hydrodeoxygenation of Diphenyl Ether
Published on: August 17, 2019
Sulfuric acid as autocatalyst in the formation of sulfuric acid
Miquel Torrent-Sucarrat1, Joseph S Francisco, Josep M Anglada
1Departament de Química Biològica i Modelització Molecular, Institut de Quimica Avançada de Catalunya, CSIC, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain.
Abstract:
Sulfuric acid can act as a catalyst of its own formation. We have carried out a computational investigation on the gas-phase formation of H(2)SO(4) by hydrolysis of SO(3) involving one and two water molecules, and also in the presence of sulfuric acid and its complexes with one and two water molecules. The hydrolysis of SO(3) requires the concurrence of two water molecules, one of them acting as a catalyzer, and our results predict an important catalytic effect, ranging between 3 and 11 kcal·mol(-1) when the catalytic water molecule is substituted by a sulfuric acid molecule or one of its hydrates. In these cases, the reaction products are either bare sulfuric acid dimer or sulfuric acid dimer complexed with a water molecule. There are broad implications from these new findings. The results of the present investigation show that the catalytic effect of sulfuric acid in the SO(3) hydrolysis can be important in the Earth's stratosphere, in the heterogeneous formation of sulfuric acid and in the formation of aerosols, in H(2)SO(4) formation by aircraft engines, and also in understanding the formation of sulfuric acid in the atmosphere of Venus.
More Related Videos
09:16Synthesis of Terpolymers at Mild Temperatures Using Dynamic Sulfur Bonds in Poly(S-Divinylbenzene)
Published on: May 20, 2019
08:40Synthesis of Metal Nanoparticles Supported on Carbon Nanotube with Doped Co and N Atoms and its Catalytic Applications in Hydrogen Production
Published on: December 6, 2021
Related Concept Videos
Sulfur Assimilation
Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution: Sulfonation of Benzene
Catalysis
Catalysis
Esters to Carboxylic Acids: Acid-Catalyzed Hydrolysis
During hydrolysis, the ester is first activated towards nucleophilic attack through the protonation of the carboxyl oxygen atom by the acid catalyst. The protonation makes the ester carbonyl carbon more electrophilic. In the next step, water acts as a nucleophile and adds to the...
Microbes and the Sulfur Cycle