Carbamic acid

Carbamic acid, H₂NCOOH, is the simplest compound containing both an amino group and a carboxyl group. It is unstable and readily decomposes into ammonia and carbon dioxide.

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Carbamic acid decomposition: The breakdown of carbamic acid into ammonia and carbon dioxide. This rapid reaction accounts for the free acid’s instability.
Amino group: A nitrogen-containing functional group derived from ammonia, commonly written –NH₂. This group is the nitrogen-bearing part of carbamic acid.
Urea: An organic compound, CO(NH₂)₂, formed in living organisms and widely used as fertilizer. Urea is the dehydration product of carbamic acid and ammonia in a familiar reaction scheme.
Carbonic acid: The weak acid H₂CO₃ formed when carbon dioxide dissolves in water. Replacing carbamic acid’s nitrogen with oxygen gives the neighboring carbonic-acid structure.
Ammonium carbamate: An ionic compound containing ammonium and carbamate ions. It can form when ammonia captures carbon dioxide and is related to carbamic acid’s decomposition equilibrium.
Carboxyl group: A functional group consisting of a carbonyl and hydroxyl group bonded to the same carbon. It supplies the acid group in carbamic acid’s H₂NCOOH structure.
Carbamates in carbon capture: Carbamate formation used to bind carbon dioxide in chemical capture systems. Amine-based capture can proceed through carbamate species related to carbamic acid.
Glycine: The simplest amino acid, with an amino group and a carboxyl group attached to separate carbon atoms. Glycine shares both functional groups but separates them across a carbon framework.
Carbamate: A functional group or ion derived from carbamic acid by replacing or removing a hydrogen. Carbamate forms are more persistent than the neutral acid and dominate its practical chemistry.
Amide: A functional group in which a carbonyl carbon is bonded to nitrogen. Carbamic acid resembles an amide but retains a hydroxyl group on the carbonyl carbon.