What are the properties of acetic acid (ethanoic acid)?
• Acetic acid is a colourless, corrosive liquid with a pungent smell at ordinary temperatures. • But below 290K, it solidifies to an icy mass called glacial acetic acid. It boils at 391K. • Its specific gravity is 1.08 at 273K. • It is miscible with water, alcohol and ether in all ratios. • It is a good solvent for phosphorus, sulphur, iodine and inorganic compounds. • Since acetic acid contains an alkyl group and an acid moiety (each of the two parts into which a thing is divided), it exhibits the properties of both these groups.
