Chemical technology of organic substances
History of chemistry| At the beginning of the nineteenth century chemists generally thought that compounds from living organisms were too complicated in structure to be capable of artificial synthesis from non-living things, and that a 'vital force' or vitalism conferred the characteristics of living beings on this form of matter. They named these compounds 'organic', and...
Atomic & Molecular Orbitals| Electrons surrounding atoms are concentrated into regions of space called atomic orbitals. The Heisenberg uncertainty principle states that it is impossible to know both the location and the momentum of an atomic particle, but it is possible to describe the probability that...
Valence & Hybridization (I)| The number of atoms which are typically bonded to a given atom is termed the valence of that atom. Hydrogen would have a valence of one, oxygen would have a valence of two, nitrogen and boron would have a valence of three, and carbon would have a valence of four. Chemical analysis of simple hydrocarbons clearly demonstrates that carbon has a valence of four; that is, carbon forms four bonds and...
Valence & Hybridization (II)| In fact, there is only one isomer with the molecular formula CH2Cl2, and carbon has been confirmed to be tetrahedral, using modern x-ray diffraction methods. The observed tetrahedral geometry, however, does not agree with the prediction based on the orbital description, which
Description and nomenclature| Classification is not possible without having a full description of the individual compounds. In contrast with inorganic chemistry, in which describing a chemical compound can be achieved by simply enumerating...
Hydrocarbons and functional groups| Aliphatic compound. The family of carboxylic acids contains a carboxyl (-COOH) functional group. Acetic acid is an example.Classification normally starts with the hydrocarbons: compounds which contain only carbon and hydrogen. For sub-classes see below. Other elements present...
Aromatic and alicyclic compounds. Polymers| Benzene is one of the best-known aromatic compounds. Cyclic compounds can, again, be saturated or unsaturated. Because of the bonding angle of carbon, the most stable configurations contain...
Characteristics of organic substances| The structure of methane by pictorial representation of a Lewis diagram showing the sharing of electronpairs between atomic nuclei in a covalent bond. Please do not form the impression from the diagram that...
Molecular structure elucidation| Organic compounds consist of carbon atoms, hydrogen atoms, and functional groups. The valence of carbon is 4, and hydrogen is 1, functional groups are generally 1. From the number of carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms in a molecule the degree of unsaturation can be obtained. Many, but not...
Organic reactions. Synthetic organic chemistry| Organic reactions are chemical reactions involving organic compounds. While pure hydrocarbons undergo certain limited classes of reactions, many more reactions which organic compounds undergo are largely determined by functional groups. The general theory of these reactions involves careful analysis of such properties as...
Organic chemistry in our life. Part I| Organic chemistry is most commonly and simply defined as the chemistry of carbon compounds. Compared with hydrogen and helium, carbon is not an abundant element in the universe, nor in the solar system; but it is an essential element of life. Indeed, four elements: carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and...
Organic chemistry in our life. Part II| Gun-cotton. This material is a
violent explosive, and is prepared by steeping cotton-wool for a few minutes
in a cold mixture of the
strongest nitric acid with two or three times its weight of concentrated
sulphuric acid. When...
Organic chemistry in our life. Part III| Sulphur and Phosphorous. The qualitative recognition of sulphur or phosphorus in an organic body may be effected by heating the dry substance with...
