Definition

Noun: 1. An inorganic acid of tungsten: A white or yellowish, often polymeric, solid compound formed when alkaline tungstate solutions are neutralized. It is an oxyacid, meaning it contains oxygen, hydrogen, and tungsten.

Usage

• General Use: The term is used primarily in chemistry to refer to a specific chemical compound or class of compounds derived from tungsten.
  • The precipitate formed after neutralizing the sodium tungstate solution was identified as tungstic acid.
  • The laboratory procedure requires the isolation of tungstic acid as an intermediate product.

Advanced Usage

• Chemical Context: In more advanced chemical discourse, "tungstic acid" often refers to hydrated forms of tungsten trioxide (WO₃·nH₂O), rather than a single, well-defined molecule like H₂WO₄. It is known for forming polymeric structures.
  • The polymeric nature of tungstic acid influences its solubility and reactivity.

Variants and Related Words

• Tungstate (n): A salt or ester of tungstic acid.
  • Sodium tungstate is a common starting material for producing tungstic acid.
• Tungsten trioxide (n): WO₃, the anhydride of tungstic acid, from which the acid can be derived by hydration.

Synonyms

• Wolframic acid (n): An older, synonymous name derived from tungsten's alternate name, wolfram. (Note: "Tungstic acid" is the more modern and commonly used term.)

Notes on Meaning

• The term "tungstic acid" is a traditional name for materials with the approximate composition H₂WO₄. In modern chemistry, it is understood that what is called tungstic acid is typically a hydrated form of tungsten oxide with variable water content and often exists as a polymer, not as simple H₂WO₄ molecules.

Noun

1. an oxyacid of tungsten (often polymeric in nature) formed by neutralizing alkaline tungstate solutions