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What happens when a carboxylic acid loses its acidic hydrogen ion?
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carboxylic acid
Alcohols may be oxidized to give aldehydes, ketones, and carboxylic acids. The oxidation of organic compounds generally increases the number of bonds from carbon to oxygen, and it may decrease the number of bonds to hydrogen.
When a carboxylic acid donates its acidic hydrogen ion (a proton, H⁺) to a base, it becomes a negatively charged ion known as a carboxylate ion, represented by the formula RCOO⁻.1
This ion is significantly more stable than other similar anions, such as the alkoxide ions formed by alcohols, due to a phenomenon called resonance. In a carboxylate ion, the negative charge is delocalized—or spread—across multiple atoms rather than being concentrated in one place. Because the resulting carboxylate ion is stabilized by these resonance structures, the parent carboxylic acid is able to donate its proton more readily, which defines its relative strength as an acid.1