I was just going through acids on Wikipedia in my free time, and noticed this neat trend:
- Formic acid, Ethanoic acid, uptil Nonanoic acid, are all liquids. The first few are colourless, while the latter are yellowish and also "oily" (more viscous).
- Decanoic acid and all its elder brothers are white crystals (or "powders")
- Aromatic acids like benzoic acid or picric acid are solids.
I am unsure if there could be a reasonable logic for the colours. But, I am sure there could be a good logic for the physical state of these acids at room temperature.
To me, all these acids have hydrogen bonding common, so we can rule out that factor. Apparently, the physical state seems to be related to the "size" of the acid. The heavier acids are solids, while the lower ones are liquid. My question is: why is it so?
PS: List of all acids at one place is at the bottom of this Wikipedia page.