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( Organic acid)
An organic acid is an organic compound with acidic properties. The most common organic acids are the carboxylic acids whose acidity is associated with their carboxyl group -COOH. Sulfonic acids, containing the group OSO3H, are relatively stronger acids. The relative stability of the conjugate base of the acid determines its acidity. Other groups can also confer acidity, usually weakly -OH, -SH, enol group, and the phenol group. In biological systems organic compounds containing only these groups are not generally referred to as organic acids. A few common examples include Generally, organic acids are weak acids and do not dissociate completely in water, whereas the strong mineral acids do. Lower molecular weight organic acids such as formic and acetic acids are miscible in water, but higher molecular weight organic acids such as benzoic acid are insoluble in molecular (neutral) form. On the other hand, most organic acids are very soluble in organic solvents. p-toluenesulfonic acid is a comparatively strong acid used in organic chemistry often because it is able to dissolve in the organic reaction solvent.
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