Chemistry
Pyrophosphates were originally prepared by heating phosphates (pyro from the Greek, meaning "fire"). Pyrophosphates generally exhibit the highest solubilities among the phosphates; moreover, they are good complexing agents and have many uses in industrial chemistry. Pyrophosphate is the first member of an entire series of polyphosphates.
The term pyrophosphate is also the name of esters formed by the condensation of a phosphorylated biological compound with inorganic phosphate as for dimethylallyl pyrophosphate. This bond is also referred to as a high-energy phosphate bond.
The synthesis of tetraethyl pyrophosphate was first described in 1854 by Philip de Clermount at a meeting of the French Academy of Sciences.
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