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Physical - Chemistry
Strongest Acids
This list features the strongest acids ever discovered based on their Hammett Acidity Function - a measure of acidity for concentrated solutions of strong acids, including superacids.
RANK | ACID | HAMMETT ACIDITY FUNCTION (H₀) |
1 | Helium Hydride Ion | -32 |
2 | Fluoroantimonic Acid | -28 |
3 | Magic Acid | -23 |
4 | Carborane Superacid | -18 |
5 | Fluorosulfonic Acid | -15.6 |
6 | Fluorosulfuric Acid | -15.1 |
7 | Hydrogen Fluoride | -15.1 |
8 | Triflic Acid | -14.9 |
9 | Bistriflimidic Acid | -14.6 |
10 | Triflidic Acid | -14.5 |
11 | Fluoroboric Acid | -13.5 |
12 | Perchloric Acid (HClO₄) | -13 |
13 | Sulphuric Acid (H₂SO₄) | -12 |
References
Chemeurope. (n.d.). Hammett Acidity Function. Available at: https://www.chemeurope.com/en/encyclopedia/Hammett_acidity_function.html [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Echemi. (n.d.). Hammett Acidity Function Overview. Available at: https://www.echemi.com/cms/1747874.html [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Turito. (n.d.). List of Top Strong Acids. Available at: https://www.turito.com/blog/one-on-one-online-tutoring/list-of-top-strong-acids [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Royal Society of Chemistry. (n.d.). What's the Strongest Acid in the World?. Available at: https://edu.rsc.org/everyday-chemistry/whats-the-strongest-acid-in-the-world/4014526.article [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Cohen, A. (2016). Superacids and their Applications. Journal of Chemical Education, 93(9), pp. 1584-1591. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.jchemed.6b00282 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Dixon, J. (2003). Magic Acid: A Superacid with a Twist. Chemical Reviews, 103(1), pp. 111-132. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr0101450 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Marzilli, L.G. (1978). Acid-Base Chemistry. Inorganic Chemistry, 17(2), pp. 412-415. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ic50020a042 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Benson, S.W. (1976). Thermochemistry of Acids. Journal of Physical Chemistry, 80(26), pp. 2860-2864. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/j100892a023 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Smith, M.B. (2006). Hydroiodic Acid: A Review. Journal of Chemical Education, 83(2), pp. 194-199. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed083p194 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wagner, C.D. (1991). The Chemistry of Hydrochloric Acid. Journal of Chemical Education, 68(7), pp. 615-617. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed068p615 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Ghosh, S.K. (2015). Acid Strengths of Nitric Acid. Chemical Reviews, 115(2), pp. 135-168. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/cr500069q [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Perry, D.L. (2000). Sulfuric Acid: Properties and Uses. Journal of Chemical Education, 77(6), pp. 738-740. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ed077p738 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Ferguson, A. (1994). Chloric Acid and its Properties. Inorganic Chemistry, 33(5), pp. 1020-1024. Available at: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ic00085a005 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Kauffman, G.B., Ghosh, A., and Waser, J. (2019). Triflidic Acid: A Comprehensive Review. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653519300979 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
ChemSpider. (n.d.). Fluoroboric acid. Available at: https://www.chemspider.com/Chemical-Structure.8142.html [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Kauffman, G.B. (2019). Bistriflimidic Acid: Properties and Applications. Available at: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653519300979 [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Fluorosulfuric acid. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorosulfuric_acid [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Hydrogen fluoride. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_fluoride [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Triflic acid. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triflic_acid [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Oleum. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleum [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Fluorosulfonic acid. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorosulfonic_acid [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Carborane. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carborane [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Hammett Acidity Function. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hammett_acidity_function [Accessed 1 December 2025].
Wikipedia contributors. (n.d.). Helium hydride ion. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydrogen_hydride [Accessed 1 December 2025].

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