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11 grade chemistry others

PCl₃ reacts with water to form an acid of phosphorus. What is the basicity of the resulting acid?






Profile image of Aniket Singh
1 Year agoGrade
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1 Answer

Profile image of Askiitians Tutor Team
1 Year ago

When PCl3 (phosphorus trichloride) reacts with water (H2O), it undergoes hydrolysis to form an acid known as phosphorous acid, H3PO3. The reaction can be represented as follows:

PCl3 + 3H2O → H3PO3 + 3HCl

In phosphorous acid (H3PO3), there are two replaceable hydrogen ions (H+), which can act as acid groups. Therefore, phosphorous acid is a dibasic acid, meaning it can donate two hydrogen ions (H+) per molecule in acid-base reactions.

So, the basicity of phosphorous acid (H3PO3) is 2.