Formaldehyde is produced industrially by the catalytic oxidation of methanol. The most common catalysts are silver metal or a mixture of an iron oxide with molybdenum and vanadium. In the more commonly used FORMOX process methanol and oxygen react at ca 250-400 °C in presence of iron oxide in combination with molybdenum and/or vanadium to produce formaldehyde according to the chemical equation

The silver-based catalyst is usually operated at a higher temperature, about 650 °C. Two chemical reactions on it simultaneously produce formaldehyde: that shown above and the dehydrogenation reaction

Formaldehyde is a central building block in the synthesis of many other compounds. It exhibits most of the chemical properties of other aldehydes but is more reactive. Formaldehyde is a good electrophile, participating in electrophilic aromatic substitution reactions with aromatic compounds, and can undergo electrophilic addition reactions with alkenes.

Formic acid (systematically called methanoic acid) is the simplest carboxylic acid. Its formula is HCOOH or CH₂O₂. It is an important intermediate in chemical synthesis and occurs naturally, most notably in the venom of bee and ant stings.

Formic acid is miscible with water and most polar organic solvents, and somewhat soluble in hydrocarbons. In hydrocarbons and in the vapor phase, it actually consists of hydrogen-bonded dimers rather than individual molecules. In the gas phase, this hydrogen-bonding results in severe deviations from the ideal gas law

Formic acid shares most of the chemical properties of other carboxylic acids, although under normal conditions it will not form either an acyl chloride or an acid anhydride. Until very recently, all attempts to form either of these derivatives have resulted in carbon monoxide instead.