New method for elucidating the structures of coal

A mixture of 30% aqueous hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) dissolves coals to give colourless solutions. Depending on the nature of the coal, 9–55% of the hydrogen in the original coal is converted to simple aliphatic products. The aliphatic products preserve most of the original aliphatic structure of the coal. This technique of oxidative degradation is a powerful method of elucidating the structure of coal. It is particularly applicable to the aliphatic components of coal structure.