Hexanoic Acid Structure, Characteristics: 13+ Quick Facts

Hexanoic Acid structure is a six-membered carboxylic acid chain derived from its alkane counterpart. Hexanoic Acid structure is also denoted as caproic acid. Its properties and characteristics are illustrated in this article.

Hexanoic Acid structure is a fatty acid with carboxylic acid functionality and chemical formula C6H12O2. It is an organic compound made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. It has both single and double covalent bonds. The double covalent bond is found in the -COOH functional group.

Hexanoic Acid structure
Hexanoic Acid structure

Elaborating more about Hexanoic Acid structure then it is colourless oily liquid and has a very rich fatty odour like that of goats or the barnyard animals. Hexanoic Acid structure texture is very cheesy and waxy to handle. Structurally, Hexanoic Acid structure is a C6 is straight-chain and saturated despite the presence of an unsaturated C=O bond. 

Hexanoic Acid structure due to its structure and the functional group has many properties associated and applications associated with it. It is one of the most important metabolites for both plants and animals. In rare plant species like ginkgo, it imparts the odour of decayed fleshy seed coats. Hexanoic Acid structure is a weak acid and the presence of a long hydrocarbon chain makes it much weaker as compared to other organic acid counterparts.

It is mentioned above that the Hexanoic Acid structure is also pronounced as caproic acid. The name is derived from the goat because of its odor. Hexanoic Acid structure is used in the formation of esters which because of their fruity smell are further considered the components of flavoring agents like vanilla and different varieties of cheese. Hexanoic Acid structure has usage in the medical industry as well where it is used as a major salt of progestin medication.

There are many characteristics of Hexanoic Acid structure which explain its physical, chemical and electronic properties. Some of them are discussed below:

  1. How to draw Hexanoic Acid structure?
  2. Hexanoic Acid structure octet rule
  3. Hexanoic Acid structure lone pair
  4. Hexanoic Acid structure hybridization
  5. Hexanoic Acid structure  molecular geometry
  6. Hexanoic Acid structure bond angle
  7. Hexanoic Acid structure formal charge
  8. Hexanoic Acid structure solubility
  9. Is Hexanoic Acid structure soluble in water?
  10. Is Hexanoic Acid structure soluble in NaOH?
  11. Is hexanoic Acid structure soluble in hexane?
  12. Is Hexanoic Acid structure polar or nonpolar?
  13. Is Hexanoic Acid structure volatile?
  14. Is hexanoic Acid structure ionic or covalent?

How to draw Hexanoic Acid structure?

There are certain steps to drawing Hexanoic Acid structure which are shown in a stepwise manner below:

Step1: Calculate the total number of valence electrons

It is significant to count the number of valence electrons in Hexanoic Acid structure as they are responsible for chemical bond formation. In Hexanoic Acid structure according to its formula, it has 6 carbon atoms, 12 hydrogen atoms and 2 oxygen atoms.

So according to the number of valence electrons present in each atom the total number of electrons are 6×4 + 12×1 + 2×6 = 24 + 32 = 56 electrons.

Step2: Lookout for the functional group

In the case of Hexanoic Acid structure which is an organic compound, there is usually carbon, oxygen and hydrogen involved which forms different structures. Among three of them, hydrogen is the least electronegative but due to its small size, it cannot be considered a central atom. So the carbon atom to which the carboxylic group is attached is considered the central atom.

Step3: Fulfil the bonding requirements

Bonding criteria in Hexanoic Acid structure are according to the octet rule where according to the formula hydrogen, oxygen and carbon are arranged. This leads to carboxylic acid functionality and a long six-membered hydrocarbon chain.

Step4: Calculate the formal charge

Calculating the formal charge is the last step which confirms the reliability and authenticity of the structure. In Hexanoic Acid structure the formal charge is 0 which confirms the stability and existence of the drawn structure.

Hexanoic Acid structure octet rule

Hexanoic Acid structure does follow the octet stability criteria which means that every element should have 8 electrons in its valence shell to be considered stable. For that sharing, gaining and losing of atoms can happen which in turn form compounds. In Hexanoic Acid structure all the atoms follow this rule.

Hexanoic Acid structure lone pair

In Hexanoic Acid structure the lone pair of electrons after sharing is only found on the oxygen atom. It is pretty much evident that the Hexanoic Acid structure follows the octet rule.

So all the atoms surrounding the long-chain carbon area do not have lone pairs and are compensated by hydrogen atoms. On the other hand, the carbonyl oxygen atom and oxygen hydroxyl group have 2 lone pairs of electrons.

Hexanoic Acid structure hybridization

Hexanoic Acid structure has a carboxyl functional group COOH. It is made up of carbonyl group C=O and hydroxyl group OH.

The hybridization of Hexanoic Acid structure is sp2 of the carbon and oxygen in the carbonyl group. The hydroxyl group also exhibits the sp2 hybridization due to which the lone pairs can conjugate with the double bond giving it the resonating structures.

Hexanoic Acid structure molecular geometry

Hexanoic Acid structures like any other carboxylic acid have trigonal planar shape around the carbonyl group. The trigonal planar shape signifies one arm being the hydrocarbon chain.  Hexanoic Acid structure is not a symmetrical molecule but it is a planar molecule.

hexanoic 3d
3D representation of Hexanoic Acid structure

Hexanoic Acid structure bond angle

As mentioned above the shape of the Hexanoic Acid structure is trigonal planar and its carbon and oxygen atoms show sp2 hybridisation, so its bond angle will be roughly 120 degrees around the carbonyl atom.

Hexanoic Acid structure formal charge

Formal charges are not the actual charges but they are a way of looking at the electron distribution. They are responsible for confirming the existence and identification of the molecule. The formula of formal charge is:

FC = V – N- B/2

In the case of Hexanoic Acid structure, the formal charge of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen is calculated.

FC of carbon in Hexanoic Acid structure = 0

FC of oxygen in Hexanoic Acid structure = 0

FC of hydrogen in Hexanoic Acid structure = 0

Hexanoic Acid structure solubility

Hexanoic Acid structure is a very heavy carboxylic acid with high molecular weight due to its long carbon chain. So its solubility in a polar solvent is very tough. In polar solvents, it shows negligible to zero solubility.  But Hexanoic Acid structure is soluble in organic solvents like ether and ethanol.

Is Hexanoic Acid structure soluble in water?

Hexanoic Acid structure is negligibly soluble in water. Numerically its solubility in water is about 1.0g/100g of water. This is because the Hexanoic Acid structure has a long hydrocarbon chain which makes the whole molecule hydrophobic and heavier to dissolve in water.

Is Hexanoic Acid structure soluble in NaOH?

Hexanoic Acid structure though not soluble in water is easily soluble in the aqueous solution of NaOH. It readily forms sodium salt of Hexanoic Acid structure.

This is because in this reaction the Hexanoic Acid structure is acting like an inorganic acid undergoing a neutralisation reaction with the base producing salt and water. 

Is Hexanoic Acid structure soluble in hexane?

Hexanoic Acid structure is derived from hexane which is its alkane counterpart. It is soluble in many organic mediums and solvents like toluene, diethyl ether, ethanol etc. But not much is known about its solubility in hexane which is a neutral organic compound.

Is Hexanoic Acid structure polar or nonpolar?

Hexanoic Acid structure is nonpolar. The evidence of its nonpolarity is present in its structure representation. Firstly there are no metallic substances present in the Hexanoic Acid structure. Due to this, there is not much electronegativity difference to create a partial positive and negative charge.

Secondly, there is the presence of large hydrocarbon chains in the Hexanoic Acid structure which have a much larger molecular presence and due to the linearity of the structure, there are no net dipole moments. All these factors confirm the nonpolar nature of Hexanoic Acid structure.

Is hexanoic Acid structure volatile?

Much information on the volatility of Hexanoic Acid structure is not available. But certain studies have shown that it is volatile and can easily evaporate at normal temperature.

A study on analyzing the volatile and non-volatile acids in the noni fruit has confirmed that Hexanoic Acid structure is a major volatile acid.

Is Hexanoic Acid structure ionic or covalent?

Hexanoic Acid structure is covalent. It is an organic compound where only 3 atoms of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen are involved. All three of them are non-metals so there will be sharing of electrons according to the lewis electron-dot symbol.

Sharing of electrons leads to the formation of covalent bonds. Hence Hexanoic Acid structure’s covalent nature is proved. 

Conclusion

In nutshell, Hexanoic Acid structure is a very significant organic carboxylic acid from the application point of view. It is used in many food items and is an important saturated fatty acid and exhibits properties similar to its family of carboxylic acids in terms of structure and bonding.

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