carbonic acid

Also known as H2CO3, [CO(OH)2], acid of air, aerial acid

chemical compound

AI overview

Carbonic acid is a weak chemical compound formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water, and it's the main ingredient that makes carbonated beverages fizzy. It matters because it plays an important role in Earth's carbon cycle and ocean chemistry, affecting everything from how shells form in the ocean to how the atmosphere interacts with water.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula: CH2O3
Molecular weight: 62.025 g/mol
IUPAC name: carbonic acid
SMILES: C(=O)(O)O
InChIKey: BVKZGUZCCUSVTD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP: -0.1
Polar surface area: 57.5 Å²
H-bond donors: 2
H-bond acceptors: 3
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Research

51,603 papers

Biocalcite and Carbonic Acid Activators.Progress in molecular and subcellular biology · 2017Wang X, Neufurth M, Tolba E et al.DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-51284-6_7
How Acidic Is Carbonic Acid?The journal of physical chemistry. B · 2016Pines D, Ditkovich J, Mukra T et al.DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcb.5b12428
Theoretical Characterization of Carbonic Acid Clusters in the UV.The journal of physical chemistry. A · 2022Wallace AM, Fortenberry RCDOI: 10.1021/acs.jpca.2c00862
Fragrance material review on carbonic acid, methyl phenylmethyl ester.ReviewFood and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association · 2012McGinty D, Letizia CS, Api AMDOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2012.02.086
Intact carbonic acid is a viable protonating agent for biological bases.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Aminov D, Pines D, Kiefer PM et al.DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1909498116
Preliminary assessment of carbonic acid dissociation constants: Insights from observations in China's east coastal oceans.Marine environmental research · 2023Wang P, Meng Q, Xue L et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2023.106219
August Krogh, Carbonic Acid, Combustion of Coal, and Global Warming.Function (Oxford, England) · 2021Wang TDOI: 10.1093/function/zqab052
[Carbonic acid in the metabolism of bacteria of the genus Clostridium].ReviewNauchnye doklady vysshei shkoly. Biologicheskie nauki · 1975Khor'kova GA, Azova LG

via PubMed

Wikidata facts

Mass: 62
Image: Drinking glass 00118.gif

Show 6 more facts

Commons category: Carbonic acid
canonical SMILES: C(=O)(O)O
pKa: 6.37
chemical formula: H₂CO₃
density: 1.668
standard enthalpy of formation: -700

Sources (6)

via Wikidata · CC0

~9 min read

Article

Carbonic acid is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H2CO3. The molecule rapidly converts to water and carbon dioxide in the presence of water. In contrast to early-twentieth century textbooks, numerous studies conducted since ca. 1990 identified H2CO3 as a real molecule with a distinct Raman spectrum and with a first-order life-time of ca. 20 ms at 37 °C. Solid anhydrous carbonic acid has also been isolated.

The interconversion of carbon dioxide and carbonic acid is related to the breathing process of all aerobic organisms and to the acidification of natural waters.