The chemistry of carbon ~

What constitutes Organic Chemistry?

The nature of Organic Chemistry has changed greatly since 1828. Before that time the scientific philosophy known as "Vitalism" maintained that Organic Chemistry was the chemistry of living systems. It maintained that Organic Compounds could only be produced within living matter while Inorganic compounds were synthesized from non-living matter. Even the word "organic" comes from the same root as the word "organism" or "organ". However people like Professor Wohler beginning in 1828 determined that it was indeed possible to synthesize organic compounds from those compounds that were considered inorganic. One of the first organic compounds synthesized from basically inorganic compounds was the compound Urea which is a metabolic product of urine. It was synthesized from Ammonium Cyanate considered a compound produced outside of living matter and therefore considered inorganic. Since then many millions of Organic compounds have been synthesized "in vitro" in other words outside living tissue.
Organic Chemistry has developed into a branch of Chemistry that focuses upon the carbon containing compounds. It has just recently been expanded to include compounds of Silicon since Silicon is similar in behavior to Carbon being in the same group within the Periodic Table. Given that the main material in which micro-chips of the computer age have as their foundation is Silicon, it is fitting that the main element establishing living organisms should be merged with the main element involved in the inanimate machine world.

Families of Organic Compounds

Organic Chemistry is the largest branch and fastest growing branch of Chemistry. Generally Organic Chemistry is manageable by classifying organic compounds into "families". Each family consists of compounds that have a chemically active center of the molecule called the family's "functional group". All members of a particular family have similar Chemistry because their functional group is the center of Chemical activity.

Alkanes

Alkanes are hydrocarbons that contain only single bonds. When carbons double back on one another to form a ring, they are called cycloalkanes. Alkanes are generally unreactive, and have the purpose of holding reactive functional groups, or the nonalkane portion of a molecule.

Since we generally don't care about the non-reactive portions of molecules, Organic Chemists often use the symbol R to represent alkyl substituents.

could be drawnindicate that the straight chain portion of the molecule is unimportant.

Nomenclature of Alkanes:

Naming of organic structures, unlike biological classification, follows a rigid set of rules. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, abbreviated IUPAC, came up with a set of rules that follows the same standards worldwide, and is accepted among all chemists. However, common names of compounds, or names that have historical roots, are still used today for many compounds.


IUPAC Name: Propanone
Common Name: Acetone

For a base of one to four carbons, historical root names were chosen. For compounds of five carbons and up, the greek name for the number of carbons is used. The ending of -ane is added to indicate that it is an alkane.

Number of Carbons Prefix
1 Methane
2 Ethane
3 Propane
4 Butane
5 Pentane
6 Hexane
7 Heptane

Ether


Ethers are molecules with one or more C-O-C groups

Line structure
Example: Diethyl ether, an anesthetic

Amine

Amide

isomers

Structural isomer


Stereoisomers
Stereoisomers are isomers where the atoms are connected in the same way in the molecules (unlike structural isomers) but the geometry of the atoms in space is different. There are two types

Geometric isomers




Optical isomers