Category: Organic Chemistry

Once the properties endowed upon a substance by specific structural units called functional groups are known, it becomes possible to design novel molecules that may exhibit desired properties. The preparation, under controlled laboratory conditions, of specific compounds is known as synthetic chemistry. Some products are easier to synthesize than to collect and purify from their natural sources. For…

A major focus of organic chemistry is the isolation, purification, and structural study of naturally occurring substances, since many natural products are simple organic molecules. Simple carbon-containing compounds produced by photosynthesis—the process by which carbon dioxide and water are converted to oxygen and compounds known as carbohydrates—form the raw material for the myriad organic compounds found in the plant and animal kingdoms. Such compounds include formic acid (HCO2H) in ants, ethyl alcohol (C2H5OH) in…

Organic chemistry is the largest area of specialization among the various fields of chemistry. It derives its name from the fact that in the 19th century most of the carbon compounds then known were considered to have originated in living organisms. When combined with variable amounts of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, phosphorus, or other elements, the structural possibilities of carbon compounds become limitless.…

Organic chemistry, field of science concerned with the composition, properties, and structure of chemical elements and compounds that contain carbon atoms. Carbon is unique in the variety and extent of structures that can result from the three-dimensional connections of its atoms.