C6H10O5

C6H10O5 is the chemical formula that denotes the repeating anhydroglucose unit found in cellulose and many other polysaccharides. It represents the residue left when a hexose sugar, such as glucose, forms a glycosidic linkage and loses a molecule of water during polymerization. As a result, it is not a single defined molecule but a unit that composes long carbohydrate chains.

In polymers like cellulose, each glycosidic linkage removes water, yielding a chain built from repeating C6H10O5 units. The same unit describes other polysaccharides that share the same composition per repeating unit, though the specific glycosidic bonds and stereochemistry can differ (for example, cellulose features β-1,4 linkages, whereas starch uses α-1,4 linkages).

The molar mass of the C6H10O5 residue is 162.14 g/mol. Conceptually, it is an example of an anhydrohexose unit that is used to discuss polymer structure, properties, and degradation. Hydrolysis of cellulose, for instance, yields glucose monomers with the formula C6H12O6.

Because C6H10O5 refers to a repeating unit rather than a standalone molecule, actual samples of cellulose or related polysaccharides consist of very long chains with varying lengths and conformations. The unit remains a convenient shorthand for discussing the composition and chemistry of these polymers.

See also: Cellulose, Polysaccharide, Glycosidic bond, Hydrolysis.