Nitric acid rises to 1 at a temperature of 250 °C. Nitric acid can act as a base with respect to an acid such as sulfuric acid: The nitronium ion, , is the active reagent in aromatic nitration reactions. Since nitric acid has both acidic and basic properties, it can undergo an autoprotolysis reaction, similar to the self-ionization of water: Nitric acid reacts with most metals, but the details depend on the concentration of the acid and the nature of the metal. Dilute nitric acid behaves as a typical acid in its reaction with most metals. Magnesium, manganese, and zinc liberate H:
Simultaneously extracted metals and Acid-volatile sulfide the amount of HS produced by the reaction can be calculated. A few important things should be noted about this reaction: Once the quantity (in moles) of AVS has been determined in this way, it is divided by the dry mass of the sediment to obtain the AVS concentration. In addition to the gravimetric method described here, other methods, such as colorimetry, may be used. As noted above, treating metals-containing sediments with HCl liberates metal ions into the acid solution that were previously bound up with AVS. After treatment these are present in solution, along with any metals that were