Carboxylic acid Carboxylic acid 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
Xenic acid Xenic acid Xenic acid is a noble gas compound formed by the dissolution of xenon trioxide in water. Its chemical formula is HXeO. It is a very powerful oxidizing agent, and its decomposition is dangerous as it liberates a large amount of gaseous products: xenon, oxygen, and ozone. However, this feature is also what makes xenic acid practically useful in syntheses: there is no chance of introducing impurities to the oxidation products, as all the byproducts can be trivially evaporated. Its existence was hypothesized by Linus Pauling in 1933. Xenic acid has been used as an oxidizing agent in organic