Sulfurous acid

Sulfurous acid chemical structure

Sulfurous acid is a weak acid with the chemical formula H
2SO
3. It is produced by dissolving sulfur dioxide in water. Bases deprotonate (remove the hydrogen ion) it to produce sulfites. It tends to turn back into sulfur dioxide and water again. It is a weak reducing agent.

Sulfurous acid has two tautomers, or chemical structures that easily change into each other. One is the SO(OH)
2 form, and the other is a sulfonic acid, HSO
2OH. The bisulfite ion, when sulfurous acid loses only one hydrogen atom, has the shape of the sulfonic acid tautomer.^[1]

Related pages

References

↑ Johansson, L.-G.; Lindqvist, O.; Vannerberg, N.-G. (1980). "The structure of cesium hydrogensulfite". Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry. 36 (11): 2523–2526. Bibcode:1980AcCrB..36.2523J. doi:10.1107/S0567740880009351.

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[1] Johansson, L.-G.; Lindqvist, O.; Vannerberg, N.-G. (1980). "The structure of cesium hydrogensulfite". Acta Crystallographica Section B Structural Crystallography and Crystal Chemistry. 36 (11): 2523–2526. Bibcode:1980AcCrB..36.2523J. doi:10.1107/S0567740880009351.

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