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Grade upto college level Physical Chemistry

Sugar turns black on addition of conc. H2SO4. Explain?

Profile image of aditya kashyap
12 Years agoGrade upto college level
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Profile image of Anjali Ahuja
11 Years ago
Hello Student
When we add concentrated sulfuric acid to sugar the result is interesting. The sulfuric acid is dehydrating agent and it dehydrates the carbohydrate sugar, removing the water and heating it into steam leaving behind a carbon foam. Thats why it looks black.