Mondo Knows Facts
Hydrofluoric acid dissolves glass by attacking silicon dioxide
Fluoride ions react with silica to convert hard glass into soluble fluorosilicic acid
While strong mineral acids like hydrochloric acid cannot etch glass, hydrofluoric acid reacts directly with the silicon dioxide matrix of glass. Fluoride ions attack silicon-oxygen chemical bonds, generating water-soluble hexafluorosilicic acid and gaseous silicon tetrafluoride. Because of this extreme reactivity, hydrofluoric acid must be stored in specialized plastic containers.
Where this comes from
Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.
Go further
More facts like this
The pH scale measures hydrogen ion concentration logarithmicallyEach single unit change on the pH scale represents a tenfold shift in acidityFrancium is the rarest naturally occurring element on EarthFewer than thirty grammes of francium exist in the entire terrestrial crust at any timeCatalysts accelerate reactions without being consumedCatalytic agents lower the activation energy barrier needed for chemical transformationOne mole contains over six hundred sextillion particlesThe Avogadro constant defines one mole as exactly 6.02214076 times 10 to the 23rd powerOnly two elements are liquid at room temperatureMercury and bromine are the sole elemental substances that melt below twenty degreesUltraviolet light creates ozone in the upper atmosphereHigh energy solar radiation splits oxygen gas into reactive free atomic oxygen
Tags: chemistry, acids, glass
Hydrofluoric acid dissolves glass by attacking silicon dioxide: the short answers
- Where does this come from, and can I check it?
- Fluoride ions react with silica to convert hard glass into soluble fluorosilicic acid. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
- Is this really a science fact?
- Yes. It sits on the Science shelf, one of 1,090 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
- What else can I read about it?
- The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.