Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
polyphosphoric acid

polyphosphoric acid

9.5
A strong liquid acid made of linked smaller acids that come from phosphorus, used to remove water in chemistry
  • noun
  • /ˌpɒliˈfɒsfərɪk ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
: ácido polifosfórico
  • Polyphosphoric acid is often used as a dehydrating agent in organic synthesis.

Examples

  • Some industrial processes require the use of polyphosphoric acid to modify the properties of materials.

  • The laboratory ordered a new supply of polyphosphoric acid for chemical experiments.

  • The laboratory uses polyphosphoric acid for various experiments.

  • Researchers are studying the effects of polyphosphoric acids in chemical reactions.

  • Polyphosphoric acid is commonly utilized as a dehydrating agent in organic synthesis processes.

  • In plastics manufacturing, polyphosphoric acid helps improve the thermal stability of the materials.

  • For the synthesis of certain compounds, chemists often incorporate polyphosphoric acid into their reactions.

Surface Forms

polyphosphoric acid singular
polyphosphoric acids plural

Morphology

polyphosphoric + acid

The term is compositionally built from the productive prefix poly- (many) + phosphoric (related to phosphorus) + acid, so its meaning—an acid containing multiple phosphoric units—is directly derivable from its parts. However this is specialized chemical terminology relying on knowledge of technical morphemes (poly-, phosphoric), so it is not fully transparent to an average B1 learner without some domain-specific knowledge.

Etymology

Polyphosphoric acid comes from three parts: poly meaning 'many', phosphoric meaning 'from phosphorus', and acid meaning 'a sour chemical'. So it literally describes an acid made of many linked phosphoric parts, which is why chemists use it in chemical work that needs a very strong acid.