What does this statement mean which is from a chem textbook?

Question

"One special class of compounds has the The H^+ ion serving in place of a metal ion in the compound which has acidic properties. eg HFwhich is known as hydrogen fluoride or hydrofloric acid".

I am new to chem but understood that ionic bonds are generally formed between metals and non metals.

Answer 1

Ionic bonds are generally formed between metals and nonmetals.
In this case Hydrogen is acting like a metal and giving away the electron to fluorine

Answer 2

This is a special class of compounds because it contains the ;positive hydrogen ion which gives the substance its acidic properties. This group of compounds are not ionic but are very polar covalent compounds when dissolved in water form positive H+ ions and negative ions.

The H+ ions are very effective in neutralizing a basic solution. That is why they are so special and useful. But at the same time, they are corrosive and should be handled carefully.

The analogy to metals is because metals form positive ions which react with negative non-metal anions like chloride, iodide, oxide, etc. In much the same way, the positive hydrogen ions react with the same non-metal anions.

Answer 3

The thing to remember about compounds is that ionic bonds behave differently between solids and when solids are dissolved in solution. Say you put solid HF into solution, you wouldn't have HF floating together, you would have H+ ions and F- floating in solution. These act as acids. Also, H+ can react with H2O (water) and form H3O+, which is the same as H+.

Answer 4

H+ just means it is acidic, which is mentioned in the statement.