BRAINCAKECarboxylic Acids
Carboxylic acids contain the carboxyl group, COOH. The carbon of this group has a C=O double bond and is also bonded to an OH group. Their general formula is RCOOH; for the aliphatic acids this is CnH2n+1COOH.
Naming: take the name of the alkane with the same total number of carbon atoms, drop the final 'e' and add '-oic acid'. The carboxyl carbon is always carbon 1, so it never needs a number.
• HCOOH: methanoic acid
• CH3COOH: ethanoic acid
• CH3CH2COOH: propanoic acid
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More in Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives
- Physical Properties of Carboxylic Acids
- Preparation of Carboxylic Acids
- Reduction of Carboxylic Acids
- Reactions with Bases
- Reaction with PCl5
- Esterification
- Acyl Chlorides
- Reactions of Acyl Chlorides with Water, Alcohols, Ammonia and Amines
All 12 lessons in Carboxylic Acids and Derivatives · All Edexcel A-level Chemistry topics