The principal use of hydrofluoric acid is
in etching glass
as a bleaching agent
as an extremely strong oxidizing agent
in the preparation of strong organic fluorine compounds
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Answer is Wrong!
This question was previously asked in
UPSC NDA-2 – 2017
Hydrofluoric acid (HF) is highly corrosive and capable of dissolving many materials, particularly oxides and silicates. Its ability to react with SiO₂, the main component of glass, allows it to etch glass surfaces. This reaction is: SiO₂ + 4HF → SiF₄ + 2H₂O. This property is exploited extensively in industries for etching glass, cleaning silicon wafers in electronics, and polishing metals.