Creosote similar caustic and antiseptic properties, but noted that it was different, in that it was an acid and formed salts. Nonetheless, Reichenbach argued that creosote was also the active element, as it was in pyroligneous acid. Despite evidence to the contrary, his view held sway with most chemists, and it became commonly accepted wisdom that creosote, carbolic acid, and phenylhydrate were identical substances, with different degrees of purity. Carbolic acid was soon commonly sold under the name "creosote", and the scarcity of wood-tar creosote in some places led chemists to believe that it was the same substance as that described
Disulfuric acid Disulfuric acid Disulfuric acid (alternative spelling disulphuric acid) or pyrosulfuric acid (alternative spelling pyrosulphuric acid), also named oleum, is an oxyacid of sulfur. It is a major constituent of fuming sulfuric acid, oleum, and this is how most chemists encounter it. It is also a minor constituent of liquid anhydrous sulfuric acid due to the equilibria: The acid is prepared by reacting excess SO with sulfuric acid: Disulfuric acid can be seen as the sulfuric acid analogue of an acid anhydride. The mutual electron-withdrawing effects of each sulfuric acid unit on its neighbour causes a marked increase in acidity. Disulfuric