Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
isocyanic acid

isocyanic acid

9.7
A weak unstable acid that usually exists only as part of other chemical compounds
  • noun
  • /ˌaɪsoʊˈsaɪənɪk ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
: ácido isocianico
  • Isocyanic acid is rarely found in pure form due to its instability and tendency to polymerize.

Examples

  • Chemists often study isocyanic acid through its esters rather than its isolated form.

  • Isocyanic acid is often studied because it helps understand the properties of the cyanate family.

  • The reaction involves the formation of isocyanic acid as an intermediate product.

  • The chemist studied isocyanic acid in the lab.

  • We learned that isocyanic acids can be used in various applications.

  • In laboratory experiments, isocyanic acid is used as a reagent to evaluate different chemical reactions.

  • Researchers investigated the properties of isocyanic acid to develop safer chemical processes.

Surface Forms

isocyanic acid singular
isocyanic acids plural

Morphology

isocyanic + acid

The structure is compositional (adjective + acid), so a learner who knows the adjective could at least infer this is a type of acid. However, 'isocyanic' is a specialized chemical term that is not transparently built from common English morphemes and its specific meaning/properties are unpredictable to a B1 learner, so the overall compréhension is only partial.

Etymology

Isocyanic acid comes from its parts: iso- meaning 'same' or 'similar', cyanic linking it to the 'cyanate' family, and acid showing it is an acid. So the name gives a simple image of an acid that is a close or 'same' form of the cyanate compounds, which fits what HNCO is.