The first thing to undertake in order to know in depth the term anhydride is to discover its etymological origin. In this case, we can say that it comes to be a word of Greek origin that can be translated as “that looks like it has no water”. It is a word that was formed from the sum of the following elements:
-The prefix "an-", which is equivalent to "without".
-The noun "hydros", which is synonymous with "water".
-The suffix "-ido", which can be determined which means "that looks".
The term anhydride it can also be accentuated as anhydride . The concept is used in the field of chemistry to name the compound that is formed with a non-metal and oxygen and that, when you carry out a reaction with water, it generates a acid .
Anhydrides are also called non metallic oxides or acid oxides . These are chemical compounds of binary type that arise when a non-metallic element is combined with oxygen .
An example of anhydride is the carbon dioxide or carbon dioxide . East oxide It has molecules composed of two oxygen atoms and a carbon atom (the non-metallic element), which are linked by double covalent bonds. When carbonic anhydride reacts with water, it becomes an oxidic acid known as carbonic acid .
He sulfur anhydride or sulfur dioxide It is another anhydride. In this case, the chemical compound has one sulfur atom and two oxygen atoms. Sulfur is the non-metallic element; as for the result of the reaction of this anhydride with water, it is called sulfurous acid .
According to the nomenclature of anhydrides, you can opt for traditional nomenclature (the denomination begins with the word "anhydride" and then it is completed according to the oxidation states), the systemic nomenclature (depends on the number of atoms) and the Stocke nomenclature (starts with "oxide", continues with the name of the element and ends with the oxidation state in Roman numerals and in parentheses).
In the same way, we cannot forget what is called acid anhydrides, of which the following particularities can be highlighted:
-They are also called carboxylic anhydrides.
-They come to be the result of the dehydration of two molecules, or at least one in the intramolecular case, of carboxylic acid.
-They have the peculiarity that they are considered to be especially reactive.
-There are different types, especially the so-called mixed and symmetrical ones.
-It is established that when carrying out their nomenclature they will be called as the acids of origin with the exception that the word anhydride will be established in front of them.
- Although they can be used in different areas, as a rule, where they have more value and presence is in the manufacture of medicines. Exactly by using this type of acid anhydrides, for example, the preparation of what is the drug commonly known as acetylsalicylic acid is undertaken.
