page_title: Phosphoric acids and phosphates
section_title: Phosphate esters
hierarchical_section_title: Phosphoric acids and phosphates / Phosphate esters
context_page_description: A phosphoric acid, in the general sense, is a phosphorus oxoacid in which each phosphorus atom is in the oxidation state +5, and is bonded to four oxygen atoms, one of them through a double bond, arranged as the corners of a tetrahedron. Two or more of these PO
  ₄ tetrahedra may be connected by shared single-bonded oxygens, forming linear or branched chains, cycles, or more complex structures. The single-bonded oxygen atoms that are not shared are completed with acidic hydrogen atoms. The general formula of a phosphoric acid is Hₙ+2−2ₓPₙO₃ₙ+1−ₓ, where n is the number of phosphorus atoms and x is the number of fundamental cycles in the molecule's structure, between 0 and /2.
  Removal of protons H+ from k hydroxyl groups –OH leaves anions generically called phosphates or hydrogen phosphates, with general formula [Hₙ−2ₓ+2−ₖPₙO₃ₙ+1−ₓ]ᵏ⁻. The fully dissociated anion has formula [PₙO₃ₙ−ₓ₊₁] is The term is also used in organic chemistry for the functional groups that result when or more of the hydrogens are replaced by bonds to other groups.
context_section_description: The -OH groups in phosphoric acids can also condense with the hydroxyl groups of alcohols to form phosphate esters. Since orthophosphoric acid has three -OH groups, it can esterify with one, two, or three alcohol molecules to form a mono-, di-, or triester. See the general structure image of an ortho- (or mono-) phosphate ester below on the left, where any of the R groups can be a hydrogen or an organic radical. Di- and tripoly- (or tri-) phosphate esters, etc. are also possible.  Any -OH groups on the phosphates in these ester molecules may lose H⁺ ions to form anions, again depending on the pH in a solution. In the biochemistry of living organisms, there are many kinds of (mono)phosphate, diphosphate, and triphosphate compounds (essentially esters), many of which play a significant role in metabolism such as adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and triphosphate (ATP).
caption: General chemical structure of a monophosphate ester; here any R can be H or some organic radical.
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