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caproic acid
Sign in to saveAlso known as n-hexanoic acid, hexoic acid, capronic acid, pentiformic acid, n-hexylic acid, n-hexoic acid, pentylformic acid, butylacetic acid
chemical compound
Chemical data
- Formula
- C6H12O2
- Molecular weight
- 116.16 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- hexanoic acid
- SMILES
- CCCCCC(=O)O
- InChIKey
- FUZZWVXGSFPDMH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- XLogP
- 1.9
- Polar surface area
- 37.3 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 1
- H-bond acceptors
- 2
- Formal charge
- 0
via PubChem
Wikidata facts
- Mass
- 116.084
Show 6 more facts
- canonical SMILES
- CCCCCC(=O)O
- chemical formula
- C₆H₁₂O₂
- Commons category
- Caproic acid
- melting point
- -3
- boiling point
- 205.25
- ionization energy
- 10.12
via Wikidata · CC0
~2 min read
Article
Caproic acid, also known as hexanoic acid, is the carboxylic acid derived from hexane with the chemical formula CH3(CH2)4COOH. It is a colorless oily liquid with a fatty, cheesy, waxy odor resembling that of goats or other barnyard animals. It is a fatty acid found naturally in various animal fats and oils, and is one of the chemicals that gives the decomposing fleshy seed coat of the ginkgo its characteristic unpleasant odor. It is also one of the components of vanilla and cheese. Salts and esters of caproic acid are known as caproates or hexanoates.
Two other acids are named after goats: caprylic acid (C8) and capric acid (C10). Along with caproic acid, they account for 15% of the fat in goat's milk.