<p>Corrosive substances are destructive materials that pose great risks to people, property and the environment. As corrosive substances pose major risk in our workplaces, it's very important to become familiar with common corrosives used in the workplace and their hazardous chemical and physical properties. An awareness of their hazardous properties will allow you take proactive measures to ensure that they are used and stored in a safe and compliant manner.</p><p>What are corrosive substances?</p><p>Corrosives substances can be defined as “substances that will destroy and damage other materials and objects with which they make contact.”  This includes, but is not limited to materials such as; metals, organic compounds and living tissues such as human flesh. No doubt we would all know what rusty iron and a corroded batteries looks like - they are simple examples of corrosion.</p><p>Most corrosives are either acids or bases. Common acids include hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, chromic acid, acetic acid and hydrofluoric acid. Common bases are ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide (caustic potash) and sodium hydroxide (caustic soda). Other chemicals can be corrosive too.</p>

<p>Acid strength is based on the tendency of an acid to dissociate into a hydrogen ion and an anion. A strong acids are able to completely dissociate while weak acids can't. The easier it is for an acid to dissociate, the more acidic it will be. </p><p>So on the periodic table, the least electronegative element is iodine. Thus the strongest acid will be HI which is hydrogen iodide</p><p>Base strength is also the tendency of a base to separate into a hydroxyl ion and a cation. Strong bases can do this completely and weak bases cannot.</p><p>As with acids, the strongest base will be a combination of the hydroxyl ion and the least electropositive element. And it was LiO which is lithium mono oxide. But recent studies and research created something called a superbase.</p><p>The super base is called Ortho-diethynylbenzene dianion. It was synthesized in Australia and has taken the place of LiO as the strongest base</p>