Pentacarbon dioxide, officially penta-1,2,3,4-tetraene-1,5-dione, is an

oxide An oxide () is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion (anion bearing a net charge of −2) of oxygen, an O2− ion with oxygen in the oxidation st ...

carbon Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...

(an

oxocarbon In chemistry, an oxocarbon or oxide of carbon is a chemical compound consisting only of carbon and oxygen. The simplest and most common oxocarbons are carbon monoxide (CO) and carbon dioxide (). Many other stable (practically if not thermodynamica ...

) with formula C₅O₂ or O=C=C=C=C=C=O. The compound was described in 1988 by Günter Maier and others, who obtained it by

pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...

of 2,4,6-tris(diazo)cyclohexane-1,3,5-trione (C₆N₆O₃). Diazo transfer can produce the latter compound from

phloroglucinol Phloroglucinol is an organic compound with the formula C6H3(OH)3. It is a colorless solid. It is used in the organic synthesis, synthesis of pharmaceuticals and explosives. Phloroglucinol is one of three isomeric benzenetriols. The other two isom ...

. It is stable at room temperature in solution. The pure compound is stable up to −90 °C, at which point it polymerizes.

References

See also