15.2 Exercise 22

In dilute aqueous solution HF acts as a weak acid. However, pure liquid HF (boiling point = 19.5 °C) is a strong acid. In liquid HF, HNO₃ acts like a base and accepts protons. The acidity of liquid HF can be increased by adding one of several inorganic fluorides that are Lewis acids and accept F^– ion (for example, BF₃ or SbF₅). Write balanced chemical equations for the reaction of pure HNO₃ with pure HF and of pure HF with BF₃.