Acetoacetic acid
Acetoacetic acid (also diacetic acid) is the organic compound with the formula CH3COCH2COOH. It is the simplest beta-keto acid group, and like other members of this class it is unstable. The methyl and ethyl esters, which are quite stable, are produced on a large scale industrially as precursors to dyes.
Acetoacetic acid is a weak acid. It is of biochemical importance in various animals, including humans, as one of the endogenous ketone bodies produced by the liver when it breaks down fatty acids for ATP production. It can be viewed as the product of joining two acetic acid molecules via a condensation reaction that ejects a water molecule in the process, although that is only one of the ways of forming it.
Synthesis and properties
In general, the esters are prepared from diketene by treatment with alcohols. Acetoacetic acid can be prepared by the hydrolysis of the ethyl acetoacetate followed by acidification of the anion. In general, acetoacetic acid is generated at 0 °C and used in situ immediately. It decomposes at a moderate rate to acetone and carbon dioxide:
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