Trimethylacetic Acid is a branched, short-chain fatty acid composed of propanoic acid having two methyl substituents at the 2-position. It is a branched-chain saturated fatty acid, a methyl-branched fatty acid and a short-chain fatty acid. It is a conjugate acid of a pivalate.
Trimethylacetic Acid also called Pivalic Acid, is a colored crystalline solid of low toxicity that is soluble in water, ethyl alcohol and diethyl ether.
Trimethylacetic acid can be used as an internal chemical-shift standard for NMR of aqueous solutions. It is a metabolite of oral cephem (β-lactam) antibiotics such as S-1108, containing pivaloyl moieties. Also Trimethylacetic Acid can be employed as a co-catalyst with palladium for the arylation of unactivated arenes and N-heterocycles.
