Trifluoroacetic acid Trifluoroacetic acid Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an organofluorine compound with the chemical formula CFCOH. It is a structural analogue of acetic acid with all three of the acetyl group’s hydrogen atoms replaced by fluorine atoms and is a colorless liquid with a vinegar like odor. TFA is a stronger acid than acetic acid, having an acid ionisation constant that is approximately 34,000 times higher, as the highly electronegative fluorine atoms and consequent electron-withdrawing nature of the trifluoromethyl group weakens the oxygen-hydrogen bond (allowing for greater acidity) and stabilises the anionic conjugate base. TFA is widely used in organic chemistry for
Fluoroacetic acid pea-free top soil sourced from elsewhere in which to sow crops. Similarly, after bushfires in north-western Queensland, cattlemen have to move livestock before the poisonous Gastrolobium grandiflorum emerges from the ashes. Fluoroacetic acid Fluoroacetic acid is a chemical compound with formula CHFCOOH. The sodium salt, sodium fluoroacetate, is used as a pesticide. It inhibits the aconitase step of the citric acid cycle. Fluoroacetate occurs naturally in at least 40 plants in Australia, Brazil, and Africa. It is one of only five known organic fluorine-containing natural products. It was first identified in "Dichapetalum cymosum", commonly known as gifblaar (Afrikaans) or poison