Mesoxalic acid

It readily loses two protons to yield the divalent anion C3O2−5, called mesoxalate, oxomalonate, or ketomalonate.

Mesoxalic acid can be obtained synthetically by hydrolysis of alloxan with baryta water,[2] by warming caffuric acid[3] with lead acetate solution,[2] or from glyceryl diacetate and concentrated nitric acid in ice-cold water.

The product can be obtained also by oxidation of tartronic acid[4] or glycerol.

[5] Since they are carried out in water, these procedures generally give the dihydroxy derivative.

It is also prepared by the oxidation of glycerol with the help of bismuth(III) nitrate.

Structural formula
Structural formula
Ball-and-stick model
Ball-and-stick model