Nitroacetic acid is the chemical compound with the formula (NO₂)CH₂CO₂H. This substituted carboxylic acid is used as a potential precursor to

nitromethane Nitromethane, sometimes shortened to simply "nitro", is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is the simplest organic nitro compound. It is a polar liquid commonly used as a solvent in a variety of industrial applications such as in ...

, commonly used as a fuel in drag racing and as an organic reagent in

chemical synthesis As a topic of chemistry, chemical synthesis (or combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In mod ...

Synthesis

Nitroacetic acid can be synthesized by adding cold

chloroacetic acid Chloroacetic acid, industrially known as monochloroacetic acid (MCA), is the organochlorine compound with the formula ClCH2CO2H. This carboxylic acid is a useful building block in organic synthesis. It is a colorless solid. Related compounds a ...

into a cold, slightly alkaline

aqueous An aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is mostly shown in chemical equations by appending (aq) to the relevant chemical formula. For example, a solution of table salt, or sodium chloride (NaCl), in water would be re ...

solution, followed by mixing with aqueous

sodium nitrite Sodium nitrite is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula NaNO2. It is a white to slightly yellowish crystalline powder that is very soluble in water and is hygroscopic. From an industrial perspective, it is the most important nitrite ...

solution. It is important during this procedure not to make the solution too alkaline and to keep it cold to prevent the formation of sodium glycolate.

Reactions

Nitroacetic acid can be used in the production of

by thermal decarboxylation of a corresponding salt to at 80 °C.

References

{{reflist Acetic acids Nitro compounds