Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of a carboxyl group, which has the formula -C(=O)OH, usually written -COOH or -CO2H. Carboxylic acids are Bronsted acids — they are proton donors. Salts and anions of carboxylic acids are called carboxylates.

The simplest series of carboxylic acids are the alkanoic acids, R-COOH, where R is a hydrogen or an alkyl group. Compounds may also have two or more carboxylic acid groups per molecule.