Category: Organic compounds

In organic compounds, atoms are said to be bonded to each other through a σ bond when the two bonded atoms are held together by mutual attraction for the shared electron pair that lies between them. The two atoms do not remain static at a fixed distance from one another, however. They are free to…

Most organic compounds are transparent to the relatively high-energy radiation that constitutes the ultraviolet (200–400 nm) and visible (400–700 nm) portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, and consequently they appear colourless in solution. This is because the electrons in the σ bonds of organic molecules require wavelengths of even higher energy (such as those of X-rays) to excite…

Until the mid-20th century, most organic compounds were distinguished from one another largely on the basis of simple physical and chemical properties. Knowledge of these properties, however, yields only superficial clues about a compound’s molecular structure, and the determination of that structure was a complicated process (for large molecules at least) that involved careful analysis of several…

The product of a synthesis is normally contaminated with reagents used in the synthesis, by-products, and possibly some unchanged starting material; these contaminants must be removed in order for a pure product to be obtained. In a multistep synthesis, it is normally desirable to purify the product from each step before proceeding to the next.

Three factors must be borne in mind when evaluating a particular synthetic plan. The first is cost—of far greater importance in industrial, large-scale synthesis than in laboratory work in which a particular synthesis may be carried out only once, as in the total synthesis of a naturally occurring compound, and which in any case is likely to…

The range of compounds that are capable of being synthesized is essentially limitless. In practice, the synthesis of a preselected compound is made possible by particular functional groups undergoing transformations that, while they are dependent on the conditions applied to the compound, are largely independent of the structure of the remaining part of the molecule. Thus, the combination…

Chemical synthesis is concerned with the construction of complex chemical compounds from simpler ones. A synthesis usually is undertaken for one of three reasons. The first reason is to meet an industrial demand for a product. For example, ammonia is synthesized from nitrogen and hydrogen and is used to make, among other things, ammonium sulfate, employed as a fertilizer; vinyl chloride is made from ethylene and is…

Although each of the functional groups introduced above has a characteristic set of favoured reactions, it is not always possible to predict the properties of organic compounds that contain several different functional groups. In polyfunctional organic compounds, the functional groups often interact with one another to impart unique reactivity patterns to the compounds. As chemistry…

The conjunction of a carbonyl and a hydroxyl group forms a functional group known as a carboxyl group. The hydrogen of a carboxyl group can be removed (to form a negatively charged carboxylate ion), and thus molecules containing the carboxyl group have acidic properties and are generally known as carboxylic acids. Vinegar is a 5 percent solution…

When an oxygen atom forms a double bond to a carbon atom, a carbonyl functional group is obtained. The carbon atom of a carbonyl group is bonded to two other atoms in addition to the oxygen atom. A wide range of functional groups are produced by the presence of different atomic groupings on the carbon of the…