Nitrobenzoic acids are derivatives of benzoic acid. Two are commercially important. They are about ten times more acidic than the parent benzoic acid.Takao Maki, Kazuo Takeda "Benzoic Acid and Derivatives" in ''Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry'', 2002, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. Nitrobenzoic acid can be prepared through the oxidation of styrene in boiling nitric acid. The salts and

ester In chemistry, an ester is a compound derived from an oxoacid (organic or inorganic) in which at least one hydroxyl group () is replaced by an alkoxy group (), as in the substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides ...

s of nitrobenzoic acids are known as nitrobenzoates.

Isomers

The three isomers of nitrobenzoic acid are: *

2-Nitrobenzoic acid 2-Nitrobenzoic acid or ''o''-nitrobenzoic acid is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(NO2)CO2H. It is prepared by oxidation of 2-nitrotoluene with nitric acid.Takao Maki, Kazuo Takeda "Benzoic Acid and Derivatives" in Ullmann's Encyclope ...

is prepared by oxidation of 2-nitrotoluene. *

3-Nitrobenzoic acid 3-Nitrobenzoic acid is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(NO2)CO2H. It is an aromatic compound and under standard conditions, it is an off-white solid. The two substituents are in a meta position with respect to each other, giving the alte ...

is a precursor to 3-aminobenzoic acid, which in turn is used to prepare some dyes. It can be prepared by nitration of benzoic acid. It also can be prepared by treating benzaldehyde under nitration conditions, a process that initially converts the aldehyde to the acid. * 4-Nitrobenzoic acid is a precursor to

4-aminobenzoic acid 4-Aminobenzoic acid (also known as ''para''-aminobenzoic acid or PABA because the two functional groups are attached to the benzene ring across from one another in the ''para'' position) is an organic compound with the formula H2NC6H4CO2H. PABA ...

, which is in turn used to prepare the anesthetic procaine. 4-Nitrobenzoic acid is prepared by oxidation of 4-nitrotoluene.

References

{{chemistry index Benzoic acids Nitrobenzenes