Citraconic acid is an

organic compound Some chemical authorities define an organic compound as a chemical compound that contains a carbon–hydrogen or carbon–carbon bond; others consider an organic compound to be any chemical compound that contains carbon. For example, carbon-co ...

with the formula CH₃C₂H(CO₂H)₂. It is a white solid. The alkene is ''cis''. The related trans alkene is called mesaconic acid. It is one of the pyrocitric acids formed upon the heating of

citric acid Citric acid is an organic compound with the formula . It is a Transparency and translucency, colorless Weak acid, weak organic acid. It occurs naturally in Citrus, citrus fruits. In biochemistry, it is an intermediate in the citric acid cycle, ...

. Citraconic acid can be produced, albeit inefficiently, by oxidation of xylene and methylbutanols. The acid displays the unusual property of spontaneously forming the anhydride, which, unlike

maleic anhydride Maleic anhydride is an organic compound with the formula . It is the acid anhydride of maleic acid. It is a colorless or white solid with an acrid odor. It is produced industrially on a large scale for applications in coatings and polymers. Str ...

, is a liquid at room temperature. CitricToCitraconic

In the laboratory, citraconic acid can be produced by thermal isomerization of itaconic acid anhydride to give citraconic anhydride, which can be hydrolyzed to citraconic acid. The required itaconic acid anhydride is obtained by dry distillation of

References

Dicarboxylic acids {{alkene-stub