In organic chemistry, the chloroacetic acids (systematic name chloroethanoic acids) are three related chlorocarbon carboxylic acids:
- Chloroacetic acid (chloroethanoic acid ), CH2ClCOOH
- Dichloroacetic acid (dichloroethanoic acid), CHCl2COOH
- Trichloroacetic acid (trichloroethanoic acid), CCl3COOH
As the number of chlorine atoms increases, the electronegativity of that end of the molecule increases, and the molecule adopts a progressively more ionic character: its density, boiling point and acidity all increase.
| Acid | Melting point (°C) | Boiling point (°C) | Density (g/cm3) | pKa |
| Acetic acid | 16.5 | 118.1 | 1.05 | 4.76 |
| Chloroacetic acid | 61-63 | 189 | 1.58 | 2.87 |
| Dichloroacetic acid | 9.5 | 194 | 1.57 | 1.25 |
| Trichloroacetic acid | 57 | 196 | 1.63 | 0.77 |
Read more about Chloroacetic Acids: Production, Uses, Safety
Famous quotes containing the word acids:
“The new American finds his challenge and his love in the traffic-choked streets, skies nested in smog, choking with the acids of industry, the screech of rubber and houses leashed in against one another while the townlets wither a time and die.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)