In chemistry, a phosphate is an anion, salt, functional group or ester derived from a phosphoric acid. It most commonly means orthophosphate, a derivative of orthophosphoric acid, aka. phosphoric acid H3PO4.
The phosphate or orthophosphate ion [PO4]3− is derived from phosphoric acid by the removal of three protons H+. Removal of one proton gives the dihydrogen phosphate ion [H2PO4]− while removal of two ions gives the hydrogen phosphate ion [HPO4]2−. These names are also used for salts of those anions, such as ammonium dihydrogen phosphate and trisodium phosphate.
H3PO4Phosphoricacid
[H2PO4]−Dihydrogenphosphate
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