Acid anhydride

Definition

Acid anhydrides are organic compounds formed by the removal of water (H2O) between two carboxylic acid molecules. They react with nucleophiles in nucleophilic acyl substitution reactions, serving as acylating agents.

Related terms

Carboxylic Acid:

Organic compounds characterized by a carboxyl group (-COOH), which is highly reactive in various chemical reactions.

Nucleophilic Acyl Substitution:

A reaction where a nucleophile attacks the carbonyl carbon of an acyl compound, leading to the substitution of the leaving group.

Acyl Group:

A functional group derived from a carboxylic acid by removing a hydroxyl group (-OH), represented as RCO-, where R is any alkyl or aryl group