Oxalic acid

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Oxalic acid is an organic acid with the systematic name ethanedioic acid and chemical formula HO−C(=O)−C(=O)−OH, also written as (COOH)2 or (CO2H)2 or H2C2O4. It is the simplest dicarboxylic acid. It is a white crystalline solid that forms a colorless solution in water. Its name is derived from early investigators who isolated oxalic acid from flowering plants of the genus Oxalis, commonly known as wood-sorrels. It occurs naturally in many foods. It can be toxic when ingested in significant quantities, and contact with concentrated forms can cause chemical burns. Oxalic acid is a much stronger acid than acetic acid. It is a reducing agent and its conjugate bases hydrogenoxalate (HC2O4−) and oxalate (C2O42−) are chelating agents for metal cations. It is used as a cleaning agent, especially for the removal of rust, because it forms a water-soluble ferric iron complex, the ferrioxalate ion. Oxalic acid typically occurs as the dihydrate with the formula H2C2O4·2H2O.

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