Decahydroxycyclopentane
Decahydroxycyclopentane is an organic compound with formula C5O10H10 or C510. It is a fivefold geminal diol on a cyclopentane backbone.
The compound can be regarded as the fivefold hydrate of cyclopentanepentone. Indeed, the product referred to in the literature and trade as "cyclopentanepentone pentahydrate" is now believed to be the decahydroxycyclopentane.
The compound was synthetized by Heinrich Will in 1861, although for a long time it was believed to be a hydrate of C5O5. It can be prepared by oxidation of croconic acid C5O32 with nitric acid. It can be isolated as water-soluble colorless crystals that melt with dehydration at about 115 °C, and slowly decompose at about 160 °C.
