Carboxylic Acids Stocks List

Carboxylic Acids

A carboxylic acid is an organic compound that contains a carboxyl group (C(=O)OH). The general formula of a carboxylic acid is R–COOH, with R referring to the rest of the (possibly quite large) molecule. Carboxylic acids occur widely and include the amino acids (which make up proteins) and acetic acid (which is part of vinegar and occurs in metabolism).
Salts and esters of carboxylic acids are called carboxylates. When a carboxyl group is deprotonated, its conjugate base forms a carboxylate anion. Carboxylate ions are resonance-stabilized, and this increased stability makes carboxylic acids more acidic than alcohols, along with the electron-withdrawing effect of the carbonyl bond, which makes the terminal oxygen-hydrogen bond weaker and thus makes acid dissociation more favorable (lowers pKa).
Carboxylic acids can be seen as reduced or alkylated forms of the Lewis acid carbon dioxide; under some circumstances they can be decarboxylated to yield carbon dioxide.

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