Physical properties carboxylic acids

Skinner, E. W., Molnar, E. J. Suarez, G. (1964). Reactions of zinc oxide with carboxylic acids - physical properties. Journal of Dental Research, 43, 915. 

Physical Properties. Glycine is a colourless crystalline solid soluble in water. Owing to the almost equal opposing effects of the amino and the carboxylic groups. its aqueous solution is almost neutral (actually, slightly acidic to phenolphthalein) and glycine is therefore known as a neutral ampholyte. f It exhibits both acidic and basic properties. 

TABLE E Selected Physical Properties of Representative Carboxylic Acids and Dicarboxylic Acids... 

Some of the physical properties of fatty acid nitriles are Hsted in Table 14 (see also Carboxylic acids). Eatty acid nitriles are produced as intermediates for a large variety of amines and amides. Estimated U.S. production capacity (1980) was >140, 000 t/yr. Eatty acid nitriles are produced from the corresponding acids by a catalytic reaction with ammonia in the Hquid phase. They have Httie use other than as intermediates but could have some utility as surfactants (qv), mst inhibitors, and plastici2ers (qv). 

Maleic and fiimaric acids have physical properties that differ due to the cis and trans configurations about the double bond. Aqueous dissociation constants and solubiUties of the two acids show variations attributable to geometric isomer effects. X-ray diffraction results for maleic acid (16) reveal an intramolecular hydrogen bond that accounts for both the ease of removal of the first carboxyl proton and the smaller dissociation constant for maleic acid compared to fumaric acid. Maleic acid isomerizes to fumaric acid with a derived heat of isomerization of —22.7 kJ/mol (—5.43 kcal/mol) (10). The activation energy for the conversion of maleic to fumaric acid is 66.1 kJ/mol (15.8 kcal/mol) (24). 

The two-component waterborne urethanes are similar in nature to the one-component waterborne urethanes. In fact, many one-component PUD s may benefit from the addition of a crosslinker. The two-component urethanes may have higher levels of carboxylic acid salt stabilizer built into the backbone than is actually needed to stabilize the urethane in water. As a result, if these two-component urethane dispersions were to be used as one-component adhesives by themselves (without crosslinker), they would show very poor moisture resistance. When these two-component urethane dispersions are used in conjunction with the crosslinkers listed in Fig. 8, the crosslinkers will react with the carboxylic pendant groups built into the urethane, as previously shown in the one-component waterborne urethane section. This accomplishes two tasks at the same time (1) when the crosslinker reacts with the carboxylic acid salt, it eliminates much of the hydrophilicity associated with urethane dispersion, and (2) it crosslinks the dispersion, which imparts solvent and moisture resistance to the urethane adhesive (see phase V in Fig. 5). As a result of crosslinking, the physical properties may be modified. For example, the results may be an increase in tensile properties and a decrease in elongation. Depending upon the level of crosslinking, the dispersion may lose the ability to be repositionable. (Many of the one-component PUD s may... 

A summary of physical properties of some representative carboxylic acids is presented in Appendix 1. 

Amino acid zwitterions are internal salts and therefore have many of the physical properties associated with salts. They have large dipole moments, are soluble in water but insoluble in hydrocarbons, and are crystalline substances with relatively high melting points. In addition, amino acids are amphiprotic they can react either as acids or as bases, depending on the circumstances. In aqueous acid solution, an amino acid zwitterion is a base that accepts a proton to yield a cation in aqueous base solution, the zwitterion is an add that loses a proton to form an anion. Note that it is the carboxylate, -C02-, that acts as the basic site and accepts a proton in acid solution, and it is the ammonium cation, -NH3+, that acts as the acidic site and donates a proton in base solution. 

Trimerization to isocyanurates (Scheme 4.14) is commonly used as a method for modifying the physical properties of both raw materials and polymeric products. For example, trimerization of aliphatic isocyanates is used to increase monomer functionality and reduce volatility (Section 4.2.2). This is especially important in raw materials for coatings applications where higher functionality is needed for crosslinking and decreased volatility is essential to reduce VOCs. Another application is rigid isocyanurate foams for insulation and structural support (Section 4.1.1) where trimerization is utilized to increase thermal stability and reduce combustibility and smoke formation. Effective trimer catalysts include potassium salts of carboxylic acids and quaternary ammonium salts for aliphatic isocyanates and Mannich bases for aromatic isocyanates. 

The primary structure of a polypeptide is its sequence of amino acids. It is customary to write primary structures of polypeptides using the three-letter abbreviation for each amino acid. By convention, the structure is written so that the amino acid on the left bears the terminal amino group of the polypeptide and the amino acid on the right bears the terminal carboxyl group. Figure 13-35 shows the two dipeptides that can be made from glycine and serine. Although they contain the same amino acids, they are different molecules whose chemical and physical properties differ. Example shows how to draw the primary stmcture of a peptide. 

The carboxylated types (XNBR) contain one, or more, acrylic type of acid as a terpolymer, the resultant chain being similar to nitrile except for the presence of carboxyl groups which occur about every 100 to 200 carbon atoms. This modification gives the polymer vastly improved abrasion resistance, higher hardness, higher tensile and tear strength, better low temperature brittleness, and better retention of physical properties after hot-oil and air ageing when compared to ordinary nitrile rubber. 

While most alkaloids do not contain aldehydes when they enter mammalian, microbial, or plant tissues, this functional group may become important when formed as a metabolite of alcohols (via alcohol dehydrogenase) or amines (via oxidative dealkylation and oxidative deamination). Aldehyde dehydrogenases catalyze oxidation of aldehydes to the corresponding carboxylic acids. The physical properties, catalytic mechanism, and specificity of this group of enzymes has been reviewed (99). The general reaction catalyzed by aldehyde dehydrogenase is seen in Eq. (9). 

Although much less so than pyrrole polymers, indole polymers are beginning to be synthesized and studied as new materials. Electropolymerized films of indole-5-carboxylic acid are well-suited for the fabrication of micro pH sensors and they have been used to measure ascorbate and NADH levels. The three novel pyrroloindoles shown have been electrochemically polymerized, and the polymeric pyrrolocarbazole has similar physical properties to polyaniline. 

Table 1.12 lists some of the physical properties of carboxylic acids. Notice that carboxylic acids have even stronger hydrogen bonding than alcohols. 

Table 1.13, on the next page, describes some of the physical properties of esters. As you will see, esters have different physical properties than carboxylic acids, even though esters and carboxylic acids are isomers of each other. 

Polarity of functional group Because the nitrogen atom attracts electrons more strongly than carbon or hydrogen atoms, the C-N and N-H bonds are polar. As a result, the physical properties of amides are similar to the physical properties of carboxylic acids. 

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