Is boric acid a protic acid ? Explain.

Explanation

No boric acid is not a protic acid as it does not ionise in water to give a proton `(H^+)` or hydronium `(H_3 O^+)` ion. In contrast, due to small size of boron atom and presence of only six electrons in the valence shell of boron in the molecule, `H_3BO_3` acts as a Lewis acid. When treated with water , it accepts a lone pair of electrons from the oxygen atom of the `H_2 O` molecule to form `[B(OH)_4]^-`

Due to the release of a proton in the above reaction, it acts as a weak monobasic acid.