Chemists observed early in the study of organic compounds that certain groups of atoms and associated bonds, known as functional groups, confer specific reactivity patterns on the molecules of which they are a part. Although the properties of each of the several million organic molecules whose structure is known are unique in some way, all molecules that contain the same functional group have a similar pattern of reactivity at the functional group site. Thus, functional groups are a key organizing feature of organic chemistry. By focusing on the functional groups present in a molecule (most molecules have more than one functional group), several of the reactions that the molecule will undergo can be predicted and understood.
Because carbon-to-carbon and carbon-to-hydrogen bonds are extremely strong and the charge of the electrons in these covalent bonds is spread more or less evenly over the bonded atoms, hydrocarbons that contain only single bonds of these two types are not very reactive. The reactivity of a molecule increases if it contains one or more weak bonds or bonds that have an unequal distribution of electrons between the two atoms. If the two electrons of a covalent bond are, for one reason or another, drawn more closely to one of the bonded atoms, that atom will develop a partial negative charge and the atom to which it is bonded will develop a partial positive charge. A covalent bond in which the electron pair linking the atoms is shared unequally is known as a polar bond. Polar bonds, and any other bonds that have unique electronic properties, confer the potential for chemical reaction on the molecule in which they are present. This is because, for every reaction, one or more bonds of a molecule must be broken and new bonds formed. The presence of a partial negative charge (a region of high electron density) will draw to itself other atoms or groups of atoms that are deficient in electron density. This initiates the process of bond breaking that is a prerequisite for a chemical reaction. For these reasons, molecules with regions of increased or decreased electron density are especially important for chemical change.
There are two major bonding features that generate the reactive sites of functional groups. The first, already mentioned, is the presence of multiple bonds. Both double and triple bonds have regions of high electron density lying outside the atom-to-atom bond axis. Double and triple bonds are known as functional groups, a term that is used to identify atoms or groups of atoms within a molecule that are sites of comparatively high reactivity. A second type of reactive site results when an atom other than carbon or hydrogen (termed a heteroatom) is bonded to carbon. All heteroatoms have a greater or lesser attraction for electrons than does carbon. Thus, each bond between a carbon and a heteroatom is polar, and the degree of polarity depends on the difference between the electron-attracting properties of the two atoms. The most important atomic groupings that contain such reactive polar bonds are also able to generate functional groups.
To emphasize the generality of reactions between molecules that contain the same functional group, chemists often represent the less reactive portions of a molecule by the symbol R. Thus, all molecules that contain a double bond, however complicated, can be represented by the general formula for an alkene—i.e.,
This type of formula suggests that the molecule will undergo those reactions that are common to double bonds and that the reaction will occur at the double bond. The rest of the molecule, represented by the four R groups, will remain unchanged by the reaction occurring at the functional group site.
Molecules with more than one functional group, called polyfunctional, may have more complicated properties that result from the identity—and interconnectedness—of the multiple functional groups. Many natural products contain several functional groups located at specific sites within a large, complicated, three-dimensional structure.
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