Dehydrating Oxalic Acid

Welcome to the second Educational Episode of Molecular Playground! In this one, I show how to dehydrate oxalic acid to its anhydrous form! Anhydrous Oxalic Acid can form esters with a variety of alcohols. Its high acidity makes it more readily condense with them. It can also form complexes with many transition metals.

Sidenote: The footage comes from my failed allyl alcohol synthesis using oxalic acid.

WARNING!
Oxalic acid is very irritating to the lungs! Mask up before you handle this compound!