Cyclobutanetetrone, also called tetraoxocyclobutane, is an

organic compound In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen or carbon-carbon bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate (form chains with other carbon atoms), millions of organic compounds are known. T ...

with formula C₄O₄ or (CO)₄, the fourfold ketone of

cyclobutane Cyclobutane is a cycloalkane and organic compound with the formula (CH2)4. Cyclobutane is a colourless gas and commercially available as a liquefied gas. Derivatives of cyclobutane are called cyclobutanes. Cyclobutane itself is of no commercia ...

. It would be an oxide of carbon, indeed a

tetramer A tetramer () ('' tetra-'', "four" + '' -mer'', "parts") is an oligomer formed from four monomers or subunits. The associated property is called ''tetramery''. An example from inorganic chemistry is titanium methoxide with the empirical formula ...

carbon monoxide Carbon monoxide (chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the simple ...

. The compound seems to be thermodynamically unstable. As of 2000, it had yet to be synthesized in significant amounts but may have transient existence as detected by mass spectrometry.

Related compounds

Cyclobutanetetrone can be viewed as the neutral counterpart of the squarate

anion An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge. The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...

, which is stable and has been known at least since 1959. The compound octahydroxycyclobutane or cyclobutaneoctaol (C(OH)₂)₄ may be referred to in the literature as "hydrated tetraoxocyclobutane".

Related compounds

References

See also