Formic Acid - HCOOH

What is Formic Acid?

Formic acid is a colourless, fuming liquid with a pungent acrid odour with the chemical formula HCOOH.

Formic acid is systematically named as methanoic acid. The common names for simple carboxylic acids come from the Latin or Greek names of their source. Formic acid, although not widely used as a solvent, is of interest as an example of a protic solvent with high acidity. Formic acid and its salts are corrosive and skin sensitizers. Sodium formate is mildly irritating to the eyes.

Other names – Methanoic acid, Formylic acid, Aminic acid

Table of Contents

• Structure Of Formic Acid
• Chemical Information Of Formic Acid
• Physical Properties Of Formic Acid
• Chemical Properties Of Formic Acid
• Uses Of Formic Acid
• FAQs

Formic Acid Structure – HCOOH

Formic Acid Structure – HCOOH

Chemical information of formic acid (HCOOH):

Physical Properties of Formic Acid – HCOOH

Chemical Properties of Formic Acid – HCOOH

• • Formic acid reduce mercuric chloride into mercurous chloride forming a white precipitate. The chemical equation is given below.

HCOOH + 2HgCl₂ → Hg₂Cl₂ + 2HCl + CO₂

• • Formic acid reacts with phosphoric pentachloride forms formyl chloride, phosphoryl chloride and hydrogen chloride.

HCOOH + PCl₅ → HCOCl + POCl₃ + HCl

Uses of Formic Acid – HCOOH

• Used as a mixture with citric acid or HCl because alone it is unable to remove iron oxide deposits.
• Used in major industrial chemicals in the group of saturated monocarboxylic acids.
• Used as a reducing agent to reduce sodium and potassium dichromate.
• Useful material in the dyeing and tanning industries, but other competing acids have, as a rule, been cheaper and the use of formic acid has therefore been restricted to a few cases for which it has peculiar advantages