Trimesic acid, formally known as benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid, is a benzene

Benzene

Benzene is an organic chemical compound. It is composed of 6 carbon atoms in a ring, with 1 hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom, with the molecular formula C6H6....

 derivative with three carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acid

Carboxylic acids are organic acids characterized by the presence of at least one carboxyl group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is R-COOH, where R is some monovalent functional group...

 groups.

Trimesic acid is a planar molecule (and is one of only four benzenecarboxylic acids with that property).

Trimesic acid can be combined with para-hydroxypyridine to make a water-based gel, stable up to 95 °C.

Trimesic acid crystallizes from water in a hydrogen-bonded

Hydrogen bond

A hydrogen bond is the attractive interaction of a hydrogen atom with an electronegative atom, such as nitrogen, oxygen or fluorine, that comes from another molecule or chemical group. The hydrogen must be covalently bonded to another electronegative atom to create the bond...

hydrated network with wide unidimensional empty channels.