. J. Chem. 62, 1134Chem. 62, (1984.Raman spectra of perchloric acid in water have been measured for solutions spanning a wide concentration range and, for two specific concentrations, a wide range of temperatures. The acid is completely dissociated down to a water:acid mole ratio of about 1.8 at room temperature. At elevated temperatures it is still a very "strong" acid. As the concentration increases the apparent symmetry of the C10,-ion decreases and a small amount of a new species assigned as associated C10,-(H,,)' can be detected. The effects on the OH stretching bands of water, of temperature, C10,-, and the excess acid protons are discussed.C. I. RATCLIFFE et D. E. IRISH. Can. J. Chem. 62, 1134 (1984.On a mesurC les spectres Raman de l'acide perchlorique en solution aqueuse pour un large intervalle de concentrations et Cgalement, pour deux concentrations spkcifiques, pour un large intervalle de tempkratures. A la tempCrature ambiante, I'acide est completement dissociC jusqu'i un rapport molaire eau : acid d'environ 1,8. A des temperatures plus ClevCes, I'acide demeure un acide trks "fort". Lorsque la concentration augmente, la symttrie apparente de I'ion CIO,-diminue et on peut dtceler la presence d'une faible quantitC d'une nouvelle espkce identifite comme Ctant I'ion associC C 1 0 , -(H,,)'. On discute des effets de la tempirature, du C10,-et des protons acides en excks sur les bandes d'klongation OH de I'eau.[Traduit par le journal] Introduction As the temperature of water rises K, increases (1, 2) and hydrolysis reactions are encountered more frequently in salt-water mixtures (3, 4). Such reactions can be controlled or prevented, of course, by controlling the acidity. At ambient temperatures perchloric acid is often used to control pH because the perchlorate ion does not complex with most cations and the acid is strong. (A recent determination suggests that there is no association above a water:acid mole ratio, N = nH20/n,,,d, of 1.8 ( 3 . ) Thus competing equilibria can frequently be neglected. When studying the properties of salts in water at elevated temperatures, it is important to know if these useful properties of perchloric acid are retained. Also, for the measurement of relative integrated Raman band intensities, an internal intensity standard is generally employed and at moderate temperatures the v , line of the perchlorate ion is most frequently the preference for the reasons cited above. Thus, for our longer term goals, knowledge of the temperature dependence of the Raman spectra of aqueous solutions of perchloric acid is essential. It was also of interest to see if the much reduced dielectric constant of water at higher temperatures might promote formation of HC104. (Nitric and sulfuric acids show markedly enhanced association as the temperature increases.)Swaddle et al. (6) have studied the kinetics of decomposition of 1.1-6.6 m aqueous perchloric acid in the range 295-332°C. (At 250°C very little, if any, decomposition occurs at these concentrations.) The reaction is autocatalytic and t...