carbonic acid
Also known as H2CO3, [CO(OH)2], acid of air, aerial acid
chemical compound
AI overview
Carbonic acid is a weak chemical compound formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, and it's the main ingredient that makes carbonated beverages fizzy. It matters because it plays an important role in Earth's carbon cycle and ocean chemistry, affecting everything from how shells form in the ocean to how the atmosphere interacts with water.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Chemical data
- Formula
- CH2O3
- Molecular weight
- 62.025 g/mol
- IUPAC name
- carbonic acid
- SMILES
- C(=O)(O)O
- InChIKey
- BVKZGUZCCUSVTD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
- XLogP
- -0.1
- Polar surface area
- 57.5 Ų
- H-bond donors
- 2
- H-bond acceptors
- 3
- Formal charge
- 0
via PubChem
Research
51,603 papersArticle
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. In contrast to early-twentieth century textbooks, numerous studies conducted since ca. 1990 identified H2CO3 as a real molecule with a distinct Raman spectrum and with a first-order life-time of ca. 20 ms at 37 °C. Solid anhydrous carbonic acid has also been isolated.
The interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid is related to the breathing process of all aerobic organisms and to the acidification of natural waters.