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Glite Dictionary
chlorous acid

chlorous acid

9.3
An unstable acid that exists only in water and strongly reacts with other substances
  • noun
  • /ˈklɔːrəs ˈæsɪd/
  • Specialized
translation icon : ácido cloroso
  • The instability of chlorous acid makes it difficult to isolate in pure form.

Examples

  • Researchers study the reactions of chlorous acid due to its strong oxidizing properties.

  • The solution contained chlorous acid and was used for disinfection.

  • Chlorous acid is an intermediate in the production of certain chlorine-based disinfectants.

  • Can you explain what chlorous acid is?

  • Chlorous acid is an important ingredient in some cleaning products for its disinfecting capabilities.

  • When dissolved in water, chlorous acid forms a potent solution that can eliminate various bacteria.

  • Due to its unstable nature, chlorous acid must be handled with care during chemical experiments.

Surface Forms

chlorous acid singular
chlorous acids plural

Morphology

chlorous + acid

The noun phrase is partly compositional: the element 'chlorous' signals a relation to chlorine and 'acid' identifies it as a type of acid, so a learner who knows the constituents can infer it is a chlorine-containing acid. However, the precise chemical identity, oxidation state, properties (e.g. HClO2, instability, strong oxidizer) are technical and not predictable from the parts alone, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Chlorous acid gets its name from the part chlor-, from the old Greek word 'chloros' meaning 'green' and used for the element chlorine, and the ending -ous, which chemists used to show an acid with less oxygen than 'chloric acid'. So chlorous acid literally names a chlorine acid in that lower-oxygen form.