Nitric Acid (HNO₃)
At the heart of both fertilisers and explosives
Summary
Nitric acid (HNO₃), known historically as "aqua fortis" (strong water), is a strong mineral acid that can dissolve almost every metal except gold. In modern industry it is the raw material for two main products: fertilisers (ammonium nitrate) and explosives (TNT, nitroglycerine, dynamite).
In depth
At the molecular level, nitric acid is flat: nitrogen in the centre, three oxygens around it, one of them in an OH group. Because of resonance in the nitrogen-oxygen bonds, the electron density is shared equally between the two "terminal" oxygens. HNO₃ is a strong acid (pKa ≈ −1.4) but also a strong oxidiser, and this double character makes it special in practice. Industrially it is made by the Ostwald process: ammonia → nitric oxide → nitrogen dioxide → nitric acid. Its main uses are ammonium nitrate (fertiliser + explosive), nitroglycerine (dynamite), trinitrotoluene (TNT) and the synthesis of many drugs. At high concentrations it gives off NO₂ vapour as a brown haze, the "red fumes", which are reactive and toxic.
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