Triflic acid

Triflic acid is a chemical compound related to sulfuric acid. Because it is a stronger acid than pure sulfuric acid, it is called a superacid. Triflic acid is one of the most used superacids, mostly as a catalyst. Salts of triflic acid are called triflates.

It is also known by the systematic name trifluoromethanesulfonic acid. The chemical formula of triflic acid is written , but is also often abbreviated as , where Tf is the functional group , called triflyl.

It is a sulfonic acid, meaning one of the pairs of hydrogen and oxygen atoms in sulfuric acid has been replaced with a carbon atom. In triflic acid, this carbon atom is connected to three fluorine atoms, which makes a functional group called trifluoromethyl.

Category:Sulfonic acids
Category:Perfluorinated compounds
Category:Superacids