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
Cyanuric acid Cyanuric acid Cyanuric acid or 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6-triol is a chemical compound with the formula (CNOH). Like many industrially useful chemicals, this triazine has many synonyms. This white, odorless solid finds use as a precursor or a component of bleaches, disinfectants, and herbicides. In 1997, worldwide production was 160 million kilograms. Cyanuric acid is the cyclic trimer of the elusive species cyanic acid, HOCN. The two structures shown in the infobox are tautomers that readily interconvert. However, mixture with melamine forms melamine cyanurate, which locks cyanuric acid in the tri-keto tautomer and makes melamine cyanurate insoluble in water. The triol tautomer, which