Methanesulfonic acid (MsOH) or methanesulphonic acid (in British English) is an organosulfuric, colorless liquid with the molecular formula  and structure . It is the simplest of the alkylsulfonic acids (). Salts and esters of methanesulfonic acid are known as mesylates (or methanesulfonates, as in ethyl methanesulfonate). It is hygroscopic in its concentrated form. Methanesulfonic acid can dissolve a wide range of metal salts, many of them in significantly higher concentrations than in hydrochloric acid (HCl) or sulfuric acid ().