Nitric acid is a highly corrosive and strong acid with several important functions. It acts as a powerful oxidizing agent and is widely used in industry.

Key Functions and Uses of Nitric Acid

• It dissociates in water to produce hydronium (H3O+) and nitrate (NO3-) ions, making it a strong acid and oxidizer.
• It is used industrially to produce nitrogen-based fertilizers, such as ammonium nitrate, which is vital for plant growth.
• It plays a critical role in metallurgy by refining and passivating metals, including precious metal refining where it dissolves metals like silver but not gold.
• Nitric acid is used to introduce nitro groups (-NO2) into organic compounds in a process called nitration, essential for making explosives like TNT, polymers like nylon precursors, and other specialty chemicals.
• It serves as a rocket propellant oxidizer in highly concentrated forms.
• Other uses include metal etching, cleaning, artificially aging wood, and as a reagent in chemical synthesis.

Chemical Behavior

• As an oxidizing agent, it accepts electrons from other substances, for example, oxidizing carbon to carbon dioxide.
• It reacts with non-metal elements such as sulfur, phosphorus, and iodine through oxidation.

In summary, nitric acid is a versatile chemical used mainly for fertilizer production, metal treatment and refinement, chemical synthesis, explosive manufacture, and rocket propulsion due to its strong acidic and oxidizing properties.