Acetic acid Acetic acid Acetic acid , systematically named ethanoic acid , is a colourless liquid organic compound with the chemical formula CHCOOH (also written as CHCOH or CHO). When undiluted, it is sometimes called "glacial acetic acid". Vinegar is no less than 4% acetic acid by volume, making acetic acid the main component of vinegar apart from water. Acetic acid has a distinctive sour taste and pungent smell. In addition to household vinegar, it is mainly produced as a precursor to polyvinyl acetate and cellulose acetate. It is classified as a weak acid since it only partially dissociates in solution, but
Nitroacetic acid Nitroacetic acid Nitroacetic acid is the chemical compound with the formula (NO)CHCOH. This substituted carboxylic acid is used as a potential precursor to nitromethane, commonly used as a fuel in drag racing and as an organic reagent in chemical synthesis. Nitroacetic acid can be synthesized by adding cold chloroacetic acid into a cold, slightly alkaline aqueous solution, followed by mixing with aqueous sodium nitrite solution. It is important during this procedure not to make the solution too alkaline and to keep it cold to prevent the formation of sodium glycolate. Nitroacetic acid can be used in the production of nitromethane