text: Rhodizonic acid is a member of a chain of oxidation products: benzenehexol , tetrahydroxybenzoquinone (THBQ) , rhodizonic acid , and cyclohexanehexone . Lithium rhodizonate, together with salts of THBQ and benzenehexol, has been considered for possible use in rechargeable electrical batteries. The monovalent anion  has been detected in mass spectrometry experiments.
  Rhodizonic acid and the rhodizonate anion can lose one of the CO units to yield croconic acid  and the croconate anion , respectively, by mechanisms that are still imperfectly known. In basic solutions (pH > 10), rhodizonic acid quickly converts to the THBQ anion  in the absence of oxygen, and to croconic acid in its presence. At pH 8.3 and exposure to light, solutions are stable for days in the absence of oxygen, and decompose to croconic acid and other products (possibly including cyclohexanehexone or dodecahydroxycyclohexane) in its presence.