Cyclopropanetrione or trioxocyclopropane is a little-known oxide of carbon with formula C₃O₃. It consists of a ring of three carbon atoms each attached to an oxygen atom with a double bond. Alternately, it can be thought as a trimer of

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a poisonous, flammable gas that is colorless, odorless, tasteless, and slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...

. This compound is predicted to be thermodynamically unstable, dissociating to carbon monoxide, and has not been produced in bulk. However, molecules, provisionally assigned to either cyclopropanetrione or its open-chain analog , have been detected using

mass spectrometry Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is used ...

. It is the neutral equivalent of the deltate anion C₃O₃²⁻, known since 1975. An equivalent hydrate hexahydroxycyclopropane or cyclopropane-1,1,2,2,3,3-hexol, (-C(OH)₂-)₃ also exists. This contains

geminal In chemistry, the descriptor geminal () refers to the relationship between two atoms or functional groups that are attached to the same atom. A geminal diol, for example, is a diol (a molecule that has two alcohol functional groups) attached to ...

hydroxy groups.

References

{{Oxides of carbon Oxocarbons Cyclopropanes Triketones Cyclic ketones Conjugated ketones