What is "disulfuric acid"

Disulfuric acid (or pyrosulfuric acid, also named oleum) is an oxyacid of sulfur. It is a major constituent of fuming sulfuric acid, oleum and this is how most chemists encounter it. It is also a minor constituent of liquid anhydrous sulfuric acid due to the equilibria:

The acid is prepared by reacting excess SO with sulfuric acid:
:HSO + SO → HSO

Disulfuric acid can be seen as the sulfuric acid analogue of an acid anhydride. The mutual electron-withdrawing effects of each sulfuric acid unit on its neighbour causes a marked increase in acidity. Disulfuric acid is strong enough to protonate "normal" sulfuric acid in the (anhydrous) sulfuric acid solvent system. There are salts of disulfuric acid, commonly called pyrosulfates, e.g. potassium pyrosulfate.

There are other related acids with the general formula HO·(SO) though none are isolable.