Mellitic anhydride explained

Mellitic anhydride, the anhydride of mellitic acid, is an organic compound with the formula C₁₂O₉.

Containing no other elements (e.g., hydrogen) besides carbon and oxygen, mellitic anhydride is an oxide of carbon (oxocarbon), and, along with CO₂, CO, and C₃O₂, is one of the only four that are reasonably stable under standard conditions. It is a white sublimable solid, apparently obtained by Justus Liebig and Friedrich Wöhler in 1830 in their study of mellite ("honey stone") and has the empirical formula C₄O₃.^{[1] [2] [3]} The substance was properly characterized in 1913 by H. Meyer and K. Steiner.^{[4] [5]} It retains the aromatic character of the benzene ring.^{[6] [7]}

Notes and References

1. Wöhler, F. . Friedrich Wöhler . 1826 . Ueber die Honigsteinsäure . . 83 . 7 . 325–334 . 10.1002/andp.18260830706. 1826AnP....83..325W .
2. Liebig, J. . Justus Liebig . Wöhler, F. . Friedrich Wöhler . 1830 . Ueber die Zusammensetzung der Honigsteinsäure . Annalen der Physik und Chemie . 94 . 2 . 161–164 . 10.1002/andp.18300940202. 1830AnP....94..161L .
3. Erdmann, O. L. . Marchand, R. F. . 1848 . Ueber die Mellithsäure . Journal für Praktische Chemie . 43 . 2/3 . 129–144 . 10.1002/prac.18480430113.
4. Meyer, H. . Steiner, K. . 1913 . Über ein neues Kohlenoxyd C₁₂O₉ . A new carbon oxide C₁₂O₉ . . 46 . 1 . 813–815 . 10.1002/cber.191304601105.
5. Bugge, G. . 1914 . Chemie: Ein neues Kohlenoxyd . Naturwissenschaftliche Wochenschrift . 13/29 . 12 . 188 .
6. Fowler, P. W. . Lillington, M. . 2007 . Mellitic Trianhydride, C₁₂O₉: The Aromatic Oxide of Carbon . Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling . 47 . 3 . 905–908 . 10.1021/ci600547n. 17315989 .
7. Ermer, O. . Neudörfl, J. . 2000 . Structure of Mellitic Trianhydride . Helvetica Chimica Acta . 83 . 1 . 300–309 . 10.1002/(SICI)1522-2675(20000119)83:1<300::AID-HLCA300>3.0.CO;2-L.