Structure and acidity
Structure and acidity
Carboxylic acids contain the carboxyl group -COOH\text{-COOH}-COOH, written generally as RCOOH\text{RCOOH}RCOOH. Their derivatives keep the acyl part RCO-\text{RCO-}RCO- but replace the -OH\text{-OH}-OH, giving groups such as -COCl\text{-COCl}-COCl in an acyl chloride and -COOR’\text{-COOR'}-COOR’ in an ester.