A white crystalline compound, C6H5COOH; r.d. 1.27; m.p. 122.4°C; b.p. 249°C. It occurs naturally in some plants and is used as a food preservative. Benzenecarboxylic acid has a carboxyl group bound directly to a benzene ring. It is a weak carboxylic acid (Ka = 6.4 × 10−5 at 25°C), which is slightly soluble in water. It also undergoes substitution reactions on the benzene ring.