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carboxyl group
2 reference results for: Carboxyl
Columbia Encyclopedia
carboxyl group, in chemistry, functional group that consists of a carbon atom joined to an oxygen atom by a double bond and to a hydroxyl group, OH, by a single bond. Carboxylic acids are compounds whose molecules contain a carboxyl group that is joined to a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, or an aryl group by a single bond to its carbon atom. Dicarboxylic acids, compounds that contain two carboxyl groups, are important in a number of industrial processes. The four main types of reactions of carboxylic acids are chiefly due to either the weak acidity of the hydroxyl hydrogen or to the difference in electronegativity between carbon and oxygen. One type involves cleavage of the hydroxyl oxygen-hydrogen bond, e.g., reaction with an alcohol to form an ester or reaction with an alkali to form a water-soluble salt. A second type involves addition of an electron-rich species to the electron-deficient carbon atom of the carboxyl group. A third type is characterized by the joining of a carbon atom directly to the carboxyl group. A fourth type involves the loss of carbon dioxide (decarboxylation). The second and third types are similar to reactions of the carbonyl group; the carboxyl group may be thought of as a carbonyl group joined to a hydroxyl group.
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Wikipedia
Carboxyl group or carboxyl group –COOH or CO2H is a functional group present in amino acids and carboxylic acids. Its structure is composed of one carbon atom attached to an oxygen atom by a double bond and to a hydroxyl group by a single bond. It is often mentioned that a carboxyl group is a carbonyl group bonded to a hydroxyl group. The carboxyl group has one valence electron in its carbon atom, making it possible to be a part in a larger molecule by bonding through it. Carboxyl groups can only occur at the end of a carbon chain, because the carbon must make 3 bonds (O double bond and single bond to hydroxyl group) in addition to its connection to the R group.

Carboxyl groups will often lend their H+ into solution and therefore will act as acids. This is the case with carboxylic acids, such as is the case when acetic acid lends its H+ into solution to become acetate.

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