Names | |||
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Preferred IUPAC name Methanetetrol [1] | |||
Systematic IUPAC name Orthocarbonic acid | |||
Identifiers | |||
3D model (JSmol) | |||
ChemSpider | |||
PubChem CID | |||
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |||
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Properties | |||
C(OH)4 | |||
Molar mass | 80.039 g·mol−1 | ||
Related compounds | |||
Other cations | |||
Related compounds | |||
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Orthocarbonic acid, carbon hydroxide, methanetetrol is the name given to a hypothetical compound with the chemical formula H4CO4 or C(OH)4. Its molecular structure consists of a single carbon atom bonded to four hydroxyl groups. It would be therefore a fourfold alcohol. In theory it could lose four protons to give the hypothetical oxocarbon anion orthocarbonateCO4−4, and is therefore considered an oxoacid of carbon.
Orthocarbonic acid is highly unstable. Calculations show that it decomposes spontaneously into carbonic acid and water: [2] [3]
Orthocarbonic acid is one of the group of ortho acids that have the general structure of RC(OH)3. The term ortho acid is also used to refer to the most hydroxylated acid in a set of oxoacids.
Researchers predict that orthocarbonic acid is stable at high pressure; hence it may form in the interior of the ice giant planets Uranus and Neptune, where water and methane are common. [4]
By loss of one through four protons, orthocarbonic acid could yield four anions: H3CO−4 (trihydrogen orthocarbonate), H2CO2−4 (dihydrogen orthocarbonate), HCO3−4 (hydrogen orthocarbonate), and CO4−4 (orthocarbonate).
Numerous salts of fully deprotonated CO4−4, such as Ca2CO4 (calcium orthocarbonate) or Sr2CO4 (strontium orthocarbonate), have been synthesized under high pressure conditions and structurally characterized by X-ray diffraction. [5] [6] [7] Strontium orthocarbonate, Sr2CO4, is stable at atmospheric pressure. Orthocarbonate is tetrahedral in shape, and is isoelectronic to orthonitrate. The C-O distance is 1.41 Å. [8] Sr3(CO4)O is an oxide orthocarbonate (tristrontium orthocarbonate oxide), also stable at atmospheric pressure. [9]
The tetravalent moiety CO4 is found in stable organic compounds; they are formally esters of orthocarbonic acid, and therefore are called orthocarbonates. For example, tetraethoxymethane can be prepared by the reaction between chloropicrin and sodium ethoxide in ethanol. [10] Polyorthocarbonates are stable polymers that might have applications in absorbing organic solvents in waste treatment processes, [11] or in dental restorative materials. [12] The explosive trinitroethylorthocarbonate possesses an orthocarbonate core.
Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to its heavier homologues strontium and barium. It is the fifth most abundant element in Earth's crust, and the third most abundant metal, after iron and aluminium. The most common calcium compound on Earth is calcium carbonate, found in limestone and the fossilised remnants of early sea life; gypsum, anhydrite, fluorite, and apatite are also sources of calcium. The name derives from Latin calx "lime", which was obtained from heating limestone.
A carbonate is a salt of carbonic acid, H2CO3, characterized by the presence of the carbonate ion, a polyatomic ion with the formula CO2−3. The word "carbonate" may also refer to a carbonate ester, an organic compound containing the carbonate groupO=C(−O−)2.
Carbonic acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H2CO3. The molecule rapidly converts to water and carbon dioxide in the presence of water. However, in the absence of water, it is quite stable at room temperature. The interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid is related to the breathing cycle of animals and the acidification of natural waters.
Iron oxides are chemical compounds composed of iron and oxygen. Several iron oxides are recognized. Often they are non-stoichiometric. Oxyhydroxides are a related class of compounds, perhaps the best known of which is rust.
Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) is the sum of the aqueous species of inorganic carbon in a solution. Carbon compounds can be distinguished as either organic or inorganic, and as dissolved or particulate, depending on their composition. Organic carbon forms the backbone of key component of organic compounds such as – proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
Aggregated diamond nanorods, or ADNRs, are a nanocrystalline form of diamond, also known as nanodiamond or hyperdiamond.
An oxyacid, oxoacid, or ternary acid is an acid that contains oxygen. Specifically, it is a compound that contains hydrogen, oxygen, and at least one other element, with at least one hydrogen atom bonded to oxygen that can dissociate to produce the H+ cation and the anion of the acid.
Hexazine is a hypothetical allotrope of nitrogen composed of 6 nitrogen atoms arranged in a ring-like structure analogous to that of benzene. As a neutrally charged species, it would be the final member of the azabenzene (azine) series, in which all of the methine groups of the benzene molecule have been replaced with nitrogen atoms. The two last members of this series, hexazine and pentazine, have not been observed, although all other members of the azine series have.
A carbon–oxygen bond is a polar covalent bond between atoms of carbon and oxygen. Carbon–oxygen bonds are found in many inorganic compounds such as carbon oxides and oxohalides, carbonates and metal carbonyls, and in organic compounds such as alcohols, ethers, carbonyl compounds and oxalates. Oxygen has 6 valence electrons of its own and tends to fill its outer shell with 8 electrons by sharing electrons with other atoms to form covalent bonds, accepting electrons to form an anion, or a combination of the two. In neutral compounds, an oxygen atom can form up to two single bonds or one double bond with carbon, while a carbon atom can form up to four single bonds or two double bonds with oxygen.
Natalia Dubrovinskaia is a Swedish geologist of Russian origin.
In chemistry, an oxocarbon anion is a negative ion consisting solely of carbon and oxygen atoms, and therefore having the general formula C
xOn−
y for some integers x, y, and n.
A dicarbonate, also known as a pyrocarbonate, is a chemical containing the divalent −O−C(=O)−O−C(=O)−O− or −C2O5− functional group, which consists of two carbonate groups sharing an oxygen atom. These compounds can be viewed as derivatives of the hypothetical compound dicarbonic acid, HO−C(=O)−O−C(=O)−OH or H2C2O5. Two important organic compounds containing this group are dimethyl dicarbonate H3C−C2O5−CH3 and di-tert-butyl dicarbonate(H3C−)3C−C2O5−C(−CH3)3.
Aluminium carbonate (Al2(CO3)3), is a carbonate of aluminium. It is not well characterized; one authority says that simple carbonates of aluminium are not known. However related compounds are known, such as the basic sodium aluminium carbonate mineral dawsonite (NaAlCO3(OH)2) and hydrated basic aluminium carbonate minerals scarbroite (Al5(CO3)(OH)13•5(H2O)) and hydroscarbroite (Al14(CO3)3(OH)36•nH2O).
Superdense carbon allotropes are proposed configurations of carbon atoms that result in a stable material with a higher density than diamond. Few hypothetical carbon allotropes denser than diamond are known. All these allotropes can be divided at two groups: the first are hypothetically stable at ambient conditions; the second are high-pressure carbon allotropes which become quasi-stable only at high pressure.
Polycarbonyl, is a solid, metastable, and explosive polymer of carbon monoxide. The polymer is produced by exposing carbon monoxide to high pressures. The structure of the solid appears amorphous, but may include a zigzag of equally-spaced CO groups.
Tetraethoxymethane is a chemical compound which is formally formed by complete ethylation of the hypothetical orthocarbonic acid C(OH)4 (orthocarbonic acid violates the Erlenmeyer rule and is unstable in free state).
The geochemistry of carbon is the study of the transformations involving the element carbon within the systems of the Earth. To a large extent this study is organic geochemistry, but it also includes the very important carbon dioxide. Carbon is transformed by life, and moves between the major phases of the Earth, including the water bodies, atmosphere, and the rocky parts. Carbon is important in the formation of organic mineral deposits, such as coal, petroleum or natural gas. Most carbon is cycled through the atmosphere into living organisms and then respirated back into the atmosphere. However an important part of the carbon cycle involves the trapping of living matter into sediments. The carbon then becomes part of a sedimentary rock when lithification happens. Human technology or natural processes such as weathering, or underground life or water can return the carbon from sedimentary rocks to the atmosphere. From that point it can be transformed in the rock cycle into metamorphic rocks, or melted into igneous rocks. Carbon can return to the surface of the Earth by volcanoes or via uplift in tectonic processes. Carbon is returned to the atmosphere via volcanic gases. Carbon undergoes transformation in the mantle under pressure to diamond and other minerals, and also exists in the Earth's outer core in solution with iron, and may also be present in the inner core.
The deep carbon cycle is geochemical cycle (movement) of carbon through the Earth's mantle and core. It forms part of the carbon cycle and is intimately connected to the movement of carbon in the Earth's surface and atmosphere. By returning carbon to the deep Earth, it plays a critical role in maintaining the terrestrial conditions necessary for life to exist. Without it, carbon would accumulate in the atmosphere, reaching extremely high concentrations over long periods of time.
Total inorganic carbon is the sum of the inorganic carbon species.
Polynitrides are solid chemical compounds with a large amount of nitrogen, beyond what would be expected from valencies. Some with N2 ions are termed pernitrides. Azides are not considered polynitrides, although pentazolates are.