Carbon suboxide

Carbon suboxide is a reactive, unstable oxide of carbon with formula C₃O₂. Its linear O=C=C=C=O structure has three consecutive carbon atoms between terminal oxygen atoms.

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Cumulated double bond: A sequence of double bonds sharing consecutive atoms, as in allenes and carbon suboxide. Carbon suboxide’s central carbon chain is a rare example of cumulated bonding.
Benjamin Collins Brodie: A nineteenth-century English chemist known for studies of carbon and its compounds. Brodie first reported preparing carbon suboxide in 1873.
Infrared spectroscopy: A technique that identifies molecular vibrations by measuring absorption of infrared radiation. Its vibrational spectrum helps identify carbon suboxide and characterize its bonding.
Carbon dioxide: A stable oxide of carbon with formula CO₂ and a linear O=C=O structure. It is the familiar stable carbon oxide against which carbon suboxide’s instability stands out.
Molecular orbital theory: A model of chemical bonding in which electrons occupy orbitals extending across molecules. It explains electron distribution across carbon suboxide’s conjugated linear framework.
Otto Diels: A German chemist who shared the 1950 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the Diels–Alder reaction. Diels later developed a practical synthesis that made carbon suboxide easier to investigate.
Rotational spectroscopy: A method that studies molecular rotational transitions, commonly using microwave radiation. Rotational measurements reveal structural and isotopic details of gaseous carbon suboxide.
Carbon monoxide: A stable, toxic oxide of carbon with formula CO. Its simple one-carbon structure contrasts with carbon suboxide’s extended cumulated chain.
Thermal decomposition: Chemical breakdown caused by heat, producing simpler substances or different compounds. Heating carbon suboxide promotes its conversion into carbon monoxide and carbon.
Malonic acid: A dicarboxylic acid with formula C₃H₄O₄, used in organic synthesis. Dehydration of malonic acid is a classic route for preparing carbon suboxide.