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How does dinitrogen pentoxide react with water to form nitric acid?

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Dinitrogen pentoxide ( $N_{2} O_{5}$ ) acts as the acid anhydride of nitric acid. This means it reacts directly with water to form the acid according to the following chemical equation:

$N_{2} O_{5} + H_{2} O \to 2 H N O_{3}$

As an acid anhydride, it effectively combines with water to produce the corresponding nitrogen-containing oxyacid without the formation of other byproducts.1