15 Facts on H2SO4 + CH3COOH: What, How To Balance & FAQs

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In a chemical reaction, the reactants and products are written using their symbols. Let us discuss the reaction of H2SO4 and CH3COOH.

Sulphuric acid or H2SO4 is a strong acid and acetic acid or CH3COOH is a weak acid. Both dissociate in water to donate protons. CH3COOH is a colorless liquid with dipole moment 1.74D. Vinegar is 4% of CH3COOH in water. It is weak monoprotic acid while sulphuric acid is a diprotic acid.

Acetic acid is used as a good solvent, the density of sulphuric acid is 1.83g/cm3. Let us discuss the chemical reaction between H2SO4 + CH3COOH with all details.

What is the product of H2SO4 and CH3COOH?

H2SO4 reacts with CH3COOH to give carbonmonoxide, sulphur dioxide and water.

2H2SO4 + CH3COOH ——-> 2 CO + 2 SO2 + 4H2O

What type of reaction is H2SO4 + CH3COOH?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is a dissociation reaction. In this reaction, all the reactants get dissociated to give the products .

How to balance H2SO4 + CH3COOH?

Given below are the steps to follow in inorder to balance a reaction.

  • Assigning certain coefficients to both reactants and products
    a H2SO4 + b CH3COOH ——-> c CO + d SO2 + e H2O
  • An equation is made with the above equation
    H= 2a= 4b =2e, S =a =d, O =4a= 2b = c= 2d, C =2b =c
    2a +4b= 2e, a=d, 4a= c =2b= 2d, 2b=c
  • Solve the above equation using gauss elimination method
    a =2, b= 1, c= 2, d= 2, e =4
  • The balanced equation of H2SO4 + CH3COOH is
    2H2SO4 + CH3COOH ——-> 2 CO + 2 SO2 + 4H2O

H2SO4 + CH3COOH titration

H2SO4 + CH3COOH titration is not possible because it is impossible to titrate two acids together.

H2SO4 + CH3COOH net ionic equation

The net ionic equation of H2SO4 and CH3COOH is
2H+ + 2HSO–4 + CH3COOH——-> 2CO + 2SO2 + 4H2O

Only H2SO4 dissociates completely because it is a strong electrolyte.

H2SO4 + CH3COOH Conjugate Pairs

The conjugate pair of H2SO4 + CH3COOH is HSO–4 and CH3COO– respectively. The conjugate base of both the acids are obtained by removing one proton from both H2SO4 and CH3COOH.

H2SO4 and CH3COOH intermolecular forces

The intermolecular forces exist between H2SO4 + CH3COOH are dipole dipole interaction, dispersion forces, ionic interaction and hydrogen bonds. In H2SO4, ionic force of attraction can be seen in H+ ion and SO42- . In CH3COOH, dipole dipole interaction is seen in carbon and oxygen.

H2SO4 + CH3COOH reaction enthalpy

The reaction enthalpy of H2SO4 + CH3COOH is 477 kJ/ mol. The enthalpy of formation of H2SO4 , CH3COOH, CO, SO2 and H2O is -814, -491, -283,-296 and -249 respectively. The reaction is found to be endothermic because the reaction enthalpy value is positive.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH a buffer solution?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is not a buffer solution. A buffer solution is made by mixing a weak acid or weak base with its conjugate base or acid respectively. Here H2SO4 is a strong acid. But CH3COOH is a weak acid. It’s buffer can be prepared by mixing it with its conjugate base like sodium acetate.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH a complete reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is a complete reaction. The reaction takes place by absorbing heat and the products formed are carbonmonoxide, sulphur dioxide and water. All the products are stable.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH an exothermic or endothermic reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is an endothermic reaction. When the reaction takes place, heat energy is absorbed and since the reaction enthalpy is positive, it is an endothermic reaction.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH a redox reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is a redox reaction. Both oxidation and reduction takes place in this reaction. In this reaction, sulphur is reduced from +6 to +4 state, carbon from +3 to +2 and carbon is getting oxidised from -3 to +2 oxidation state.

h2so4 + ch3cooh
Redox reaction

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH a precipitation reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH reaction does not yield any precipitate. The products yield are carbon monoxide, sulphur dioxide and water. Both CO and SO2 is a gas.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH reversible or irreversible reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is an irreversible reaction. This reaction can not be reversed to get the reactants.

Is H2SO4 + CH3COOH a displacement reaction?

H2SO4 + CH3COOH is not a displacement reaction, instead it is a dissociation reaction because all the reactants break down to get the products.

Conclusion

In this article H2SO4 and CH3COOH reacts to give stable products like carbonmonoxide, sulphur dioxide and water This is an endothermic reaction with it’s reaction enthalpy is 448 kJ/mol.