PERCHLORIC ACID

Perchloric acid (chemical formula: HClO4) is a kind of mineral acid which is highly corrosive to metals and tissues. It is even stronger than sulfuric and nitric acid. It is useful in the manufacture of perchlorate salts such as ammonium perchlorate, which is an important rocket fuel component. It also has many applications in etching of liquid crystal displays and chrome, critical electronics applications, ore extraction and analytic chemistry. As a strong acid, it is useful eluent in ion-exchange chromatography due to its stability against hydrolysis. It can also be used for electropolishing/etching of aluminum, molybdenum, and other metals. In industry, it can be produced by two routes: (1) treatment of sodium perchlorate with hydrochloric acid; (2) anodic oxidation of aqueous chlorine at a platinum electrode.