15 Acetic Acid Uses: Facts You Should Know!

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Acetic acid is a weak acid and is also called vinegar as it holds approx 4% of acetic acid by volume. Let us see its wide uses in many areas in this article.

  • Acetic acid is used as an industrial solvent at a large scale in organic syntheses.
  • Acetic acid is used in battery electrolytes to increase ionic conductivity. Acetic acid is a proton donor, and when it reinforces with an ionic liquid (IL), it facilitates the proton transport across the ionic liquid.
  • IL/acetic acid mixture induces the ionic conductivity of the battery.
  • Acetic acid is also used for the manufacture of organic and photographic chemicals, plastics, insecticides, dyes, etc.

Let us focus on the wide applications of different substituted acetic acids like glacial acetic acid, mono chloro acetic acid, and indole acetic acid in detail in this article.

Glacial acetic acid Uses

Glacial acetic acid is a pure form of acetic acid as it has less than 1% water content. Below 16.6 °C, it fridges into white crystals, hence is known as glacial acetic acid.

  • Glacial acetic acid is used in the oil industry to increase the flow and production of lubricants and oils by decreasing their viscosity.
  • Glacial acetic acid is used to purify organic compounds because it is used as a reagent in the recrystallization process and also when it is free from water, it can work as a weak reducing agent.
  • Due to the corrosive nature of glacial acetic acid, aluminum-coated tanks are used for the transportation of acetic acid. Dehydration and the proton release tendency increase the applications of acetic acid in various fields.
  • Glacial acetic acid when reacting with these metals (Zn, Mg, Fe), releases hydrogen gas with the formation of salt.  

Mono chloro acetic acid

Mono chloro acetic acid is an organochlorine compound with chlorine substituent at 2nd positioned carbon in acetic acid. The chemical formula for it is ClCH2COOH. Let us discuss its uses:

  • Mono chloro acetic acid is a widely used intermediate in organic syntheses like vinyl acetate monomer, vinegar, dimethyl terephthalate, and acetic anhydride.
  • Monochloro acetic acid also shows its applications in the paint industry as it is used to synthesize carboxy methyl cellulose all over the world. Carboxy methyl cellulose, is further used in the production of wall paper glue, ceramics and paints, and lacquers.
  • In the agrochemical industry, mono chloro acetic acid is highly used to form active ingredients of herbicides or insecticides. 
  • Chlorine is an electronegative element, so the introduction of acetic acid induces its acidic nature, which induces its use as a solvent.

Indole acetic acid

Indole acetic acid is a derivative of indole and acetic acid. It is a plant hormone known as beta-indolyle acetic acid or heteroauxin. The structure and uses of this acid are given below:

acetic acid
Structure of indole-3 acetic acid
  • Indole acetic acid is widely used in the plant industry. It regulates all types of activities in a plant such as their elongation, development, their response towards ultra – violet light, gravity force, pathogens, etc.
  • Indole acetic acid can be used as an herbicide and pesticide.
  • Indole acetic acid increases the respiration process and also stimulates the production of ethylene in the fruit plants which helps in the ripening of fruits at the required time period.

Conclusion

Acetic acid is a destructive, colorless liquid having one ppm visibility. Intermolecular hydrogen bonding can be possible in acetic acid molecules so it exists in dimer form in vapors at a temp of 1200C.  In solid state, these molecules exist in the form of chains through interconnecting hydrogen bonding.