Carboxylic acid

A carboxylic acid is any molecule that has a COOH group. This group contains a carbonyl (C=O double bond) together with an hydroxyl group (OH) on the same carbon atom. Because it is easy to remove the proton with even a weak base, these compounds are called acids. An example of a carboxylic acid is acetic acid, which is also known as vinegar.

Carboxylic acids are found a lot in food. Many types of fat molecules are actually carboxylic acids. For example, chocolate and coconuts have these acids. They are also used a lot in soaps and detergents.

The smaller carboxylic acids dissolve in water. The bigger ones dissolve only in organic solvents.

List
This section lists the first few carboxylic acids.

+Straight-chain, saturated carboxylic acidsCarbonatomsCommon nameIUPAC nameChemical formulaCommon location or use0  Oxygen  ?  OO  Air1  Carbonic acid  Carbonic acid  OHCOOH  Blood and tissues (bicarbonate buffer system)1  Formic acid  Methanoic acid  HCOOH  Insect stings2  Acetic acid  Ethanoic acid  CH3COOH  Vinegar3  Propionic acid Propanoic acid  CH3CH2COOH  Preservative for stored grains, body odour4  Butyric acid Butanoic acid  CH3(CH2)2COOH  Butter5  Valeric acid Pentanoic acid  CH3(CH2)3COOH  Valerian6  Caproic acid Hexanoic acid  CH3(CH2)4COOH  Goat fat7  Enanthic acid Heptanoic acid  CH3(CH2)5COOH 8  Caprylic acid Octanoic acid  CH3(CH2)6COOH  Coconuts9  Pelargonic acid Nonanoic acid  CH3(CH2)7COOH  Pelargonium10  Capric acid  Decanoic acid  CH3(CH2)8COOH  Coconut and Palm kernel oil11  Undecylic acid Undecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)9COOH 12  Lauric acid  Dodecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)10COOH  Coconut oil and hand wash soaps13  Tridecylic acid Tridecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)11COOH 14  Myristic acid  Tetradecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)12COOH  Nutmeg15  Pentadecylic acid Pentadecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)13COOH 16  Palmitic acid  Hexadecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)14COOH  Palm oil17  Margaric acid Heptadecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)15COOH 18  Stearic acid  Octadecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)16COOH  Chocolate, waxes, soaps, and oils19  Nonadecylic acid Nonadecanoic acid  CH3(CH2)17COOH  Fats, vegetable oils, pheromone 20  Arachidic acid Icosanoic acid  CH3(CH2)18COOH  Peanut oil

Category:Functional groups
Category:Carboxylic acids