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
Organic compound substance in Martian soil. Terrestrially, it, and its anhydride, mellitic anhydride, are associated with the mineral mellite (AlC(COO)·16HO). A slightly broader definition of organic compound includes all compounds bearing C-H or C-C bonds. This would still exclude urea. Moreover, this definition still leads to somewhat arbitrary divisions in sets of carbon-halogen compounds. For example, CF and CCl would be considered by this rule to be "inorganic", whereas CFH and CHCl would be organic, though these compounds share many physical and chemical properties. Organic compounds may be classified in a variety of ways. One major distinction is between natural and synthetic