Compounds of carbon

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Compounds of carbon are defined as chemical substances containing carbon. [1] [2] More compounds of carbon exist than any other chemical element except for hydrogen. Organic carbon compounds are far more numerous than inorganic carbon compounds. In general bonds of carbon with other elements are covalent bonds. Carbon is tetravalent but carbon free radicals and carbenes occur as short-lived intermediates. Ions of carbon are carbocations and carbanions are also short-lived. An important carbon property is catenation as the ability to form long carbon chains and rings. [3]

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Allotropes of carbon

The known inorganic chemistry of the allotropes of carbon (diamond, graphite, and the fullerenes) blossomed with the discovery of buckminsterfullerene in 1985, as additional fullerenes and their various derivatives were discovered. One such class of derivatives is inclusion compounds, in which an ion is enclosed by the all-carbon shell of the fullerene. This inclusion is denoted by the "@" symbol in endohedral fullerenes. For example, an ion consisting of a lithium ion trapped within buckminsterfullerene would be denoted Li+@C60. As with any other ionic compound, this complex ion could in principle pair with a counterion to form a salt. Other elements are also incorporated in so-called graphite intercalation compounds.

Carbides

Carbides are binary compounds of carbon with an element that is less electronegative than it. The most important are Al4C3, B4C, CaC2, Fe3C, HfC, SiC, TaC, TiC, and WC.

Organic compounds

It was once thought that organic compounds could only be created by living organisms. Over time, however, scientists learned how to synthesize organic compounds in the lab. The number of organic compounds is immense and the known number of defined compounds is close to 10 million. [4] However, an indefinitely large number of such compounds are theoretically possible. By definition, an organic compound must contain at least one atom of carbon, but this criterion is not generally regarded as sufficient. Indeed, the distinction between organic and inorganic compounds is ultimately a matter of convention, and there are several compounds that have been classified either way, such as: COCl2, CSCl2, CS(NH2)2, CO(NH2)2. With carbon bonded to metals the field of organic chemistry crosses over into organometallic chemistry.

Inorganic compounds

There is a rich variety of carbon chemistry that does not fall within the realm of organic chemistry and is thus called inorganic carbon chemistry.

Carbon-oxygen compounds

There are many oxides of carbon (oxocarbons), of which the most common are carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). Other less known oxides include carbon suboxide (C3O2) and mellitic anhydride (C12O9). [5] There are also numerous unstable or elusive oxides, such as dicarbon monoxide (C2O), oxalic anhydride (C2O4), and carbon trioxide (CO3).

There are several oxocarbon anions, negative ions that consist solely of oxygen and carbon. The most common are the carbonate (CO32−) and oxalate (C2O42−). The corresponding acids are the highly unstable carbonic acid (H2CO3) and the quite stable oxalic acid (H2C2O4), respectively. These anions can be partially deprotonated to give the bicarbonate (HCO3−) and hydrogenoxalate (HC2O4−). Other more exotic carbon–oxygen anions exist, such as acetylenedicarboxylate (O2C–C≡C–CO22−), mellitate (C12O96−), squarate (C4O42−), and rhodizonate (C6O62−). The anhydrides of some of these acids are oxides of carbon; carbon dioxide, for instance, can be seen as the anhydride of carbonic acid.

Some important carbonates are Ag2CO3, BaCO3, CaCO3, CdCO3, Ce2(CO3)3, CoCO3, Cs2CO3, CuCO3, FeCO3, K2CO3, La2(CO3)3, Li2CO3, MgCO3, MnCO3, (NH4)2CO3, Na2CO3, NiCO3, PbCO3, SrCO3, and ZnCO3.

The most important bicarbonates include NH4HCO3, Ca(HCO3)2, KHCO3, and NaHCO3.

The most important oxalates include Ag2C2O4, BaC2O4, CaC2O4, Ce2(C2O4)3, K2C2O4, and Na2C2O4.

Carbonyls are coordination complexes between transition metals and carbonyl ligands. Metal carbonyls are complexes that are formed with the neutral ligand CO. These complexes are covalent. Here is a list of some carbonyls: Cr(CO)6, Co2(CO)8, Fe(CO)5, Mn2(CO)10, Mo(CO)6, Ni(CO)4, W(CO)6.

Carbon-sulfur compounds

Important inorganic carbon-sulfur compounds are the carbon sulfides carbon disulfide (CS2) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS). Carbon monosulfide (CS) unlike carbon monoxide is very unstable. Important compound classes are thiocarbonates, thiocarbamates, dithiocarbamates and trithiocarbonates.

CS-CRC-MW-dimensions-2D-Lewis.png
Carbon-disulfide-2D-dimensions.png
Carbonyl-sulfide-2D-dimensions.png
carbon monosulfide carbon disulfide carbonyl sulfide
Inorganic carbon-sulfur compounds

Carbon-nitrogen compounds

Small inorganic carbon – nitrogen compounds are cyanogen, hydrogen cyanide, cyanamide, isocyanic acid and cyanogen chloride.

composition Molar mass (g/mole) Boiling point °C Melting point °C
cyanogen (CN)2 Cyanogen 200.svg 52.03−21−28
hydrogen cyanide HCN Hydrogen-cyanide-2D.svg 27.0325–26−12 – -14
cyanamide CN2H2 Cyanamide.svg 42.04260 (decomp.)44
isocyanic acid HNCO Isocyansaure.svg 43.0323.5−86
cyanogen chloride CNCl Cyanogen-chloride.svg 61.4713−6
chlorosulfonyl isocyanate CNClO3S Chlorosulfonyl-isocyanate-2D.png 141.53107−44
cyanuric chloride (NCCl)3 Cyanuric chloride.png 184.41192154
Inorganic carbon-nitrogen compounds

Paracyanogen is the polymerization product of cyanogen. Cyanuric chloride is the trimer of cyanogen chloride and 2-cyanoguanidine is the dimer of cyanamide.

Other types of inorganic compounds include the inorganic salts and complexes of the carbon-containing cyanide, cyanate, fulminate, thiocyanate and cyanamide ions. Examples of cyanides are copper cyanide (CuCN) and potassium cyanide (KCN), examples of cyanates are potassium cyanate (KNCO) and silver cyanate (AgNCO), examples of fulminates are silver fulminate (AgOCN) and mercury fulminate (HgOCN) and an example of a thiocyanate is potassium thiocyanate (KSCN).

Carbon halides

The common carbon halides are carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), carbon tetrachloride (CCl4), carbon tetrabromide (CBr4), carbon tetraiodide (CI4), and a large number of other carbon-halogen compounds.

Carboranes

A carborane is a cluster composed of boron and carbon atoms such as H2C2B10H10....

Alloys

There are hundreds of alloys that contain carbon. The most common of these alloys is steel, sometimes called "carbon steel" (see Category:Steels). All kinds of steel contain some amount of carbon, by definition, and all ferrous alloys contain some carbon.

Some other common alloys that are based on iron and carbon include anthracite iron, cast iron, pig iron, and wrought iron.

In more technical uses, there are also spiegeleisen, an alloy of iron, manganese, and carbon; and stellite, an alloy of cobalt, chromium, tungsten, and carbon.

Whether it was placed there deliberately or not, some traces of carbon is also found in these common metals and their alloys: aluminum, chromium, magnesium, molybdenum, niobium, thorium, titanium, tungsten, uranium, vanadium, zinc, and zirconium. For example, many of these metals are smelted with coke, a form of carbon; and aluminum and magnesium are made in electrolytic cells with carbon electrodes. Some distribution of carbon into all of these metals is inevitable.

Related Research Articles

Cyanide any chemical compound with cyanide anion

A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the group C≡N. This group, known as the cyano group, consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.

Organic compound Chemical compound that contains carbon (except for several compounds traditionally classified as inorganic compounds)

In chemistry, organic compounds are generally any chemical compounds that contain carbon-hydrogen bonds. Due to carbon's ability to catenate, millions of organic compounds are known. The study of the properties, reactions, and syntheses of organic compounds comprises the discipline known as organic chemistry. For historical reasons, a few classes of carbon-containing compounds, along with a handful of other exceptions, are not classified as organic compounds and are considered inorganic. Other than those just named, little consensus exists among chemists on precisely which carbon-containing compounds are excluded, making any rigorous definition of an organic compound elusive.

Carbonyl group

In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom: C=O. It is common to several classes of organic compounds, as part of many larger functional groups. A compound containing a carbonyl group is often referred to as a carbonyl compound.

An inorganic compound is typically a chemical compound that lacks carbon–hydrogen bonds, that is, a compound that is not an organic compound. However, the distinction is not clearly defined and agreed upon, and authorities have differing views on the subject. The study of inorganic compounds is known as inorganic chemistry.

Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the formula (CN)2. It is a colorless, toxic gas with a pungent odor. The molecule is a pseudohalogen. Cyanogen molecules consist of two CN groups – analogous to diatomic halogen molecules, such as Cl2, but far less oxidizing. The two cyano groups are bonded together at their carbon atoms: N≡C−C≡N, although other isomers have been detected. The name is also used for the CN radical, and hence is used for compounds such as cyanogen bromide (NCBr).

In organic chemistry, a nucleophilic addition reaction is an addition reaction where a chemical compound with an electrophilic double or triple bond reacts with a nucleophile, such that the double or triple bond is broken. Nucleophilic additions differ from electrophilic additions in that the former reactions involve the group to which atoms are added accepting electron pairs, whereas the latter reactions involve the group donating electron pairs.

Acidic oxides, or acid anhydride, are oxides that react with water to form an acid, or with a base to form a salt. They are oxides of either nonmetals or of metals in high oxidation states. Their chemistry can be systematically understood by taking an oxoacid and removing water from it, until only an oxide remains. The resulting oxide belongs to this group of substances. For example, sulfurous acid (SO2), sulfuric acid (SO3), and carbonic acid (CO2) are acidic oxides. An inorganic anhydride (a somewhat archaic term) is an acid anhydride without an organic moiety.

Thiocyanate

Thiocyanate is the anion [SCN]−. It is the conjugate base of thiocyanic acid. Common derivatives include the colourless salts potassium thiocyanate and sodium thiocyanate. Organic compounds containing the functional group SCN are also called thiocyanates. Mercury(II) thiocyanate was formerly used in pyrotechnics.

Cyanogen chloride is a toxic chemical compound with the formula NCCl. This linear, triatomic pseudohalogen is an easily condensed colorless gas. More commonly encountered in the laboratory is the related compound cyanogen bromide, a room-temperature solid that is widely used in biochemical analysis and preparation.

Pseudohalogens are polyatomic analogues of halogens, whose chemistry, resembling that of the true halogens, allows them to substitute for halogens in several classes of chemical compounds. Pseudohalogens occur in pseudohalogen molecules, inorganic molecules of the general forms Ps–Ps or Ps–X, such as cyanogen; pseudohalide anions, such as cyanide ion; inorganic acids, such as hydrogen cyanide; as ligands in coordination complexes, such as ferricyanide; and as functional groups in organic molecules, such as the nitrile group. Well-known pseudohalogen functional groups include cyanide, cyanate, thiocyanate, and azide.

Organic acid anhydride

An organic acid anhydride is an acid anhydride that is an organic compound. An acid anhydride is a compound that has two acyl groups bonded to the same oxygen atom. A common type of organic acid anhydride is a carboxylic anhydride, where the parent acid is a carboxylic acid, the formula of the anhydride being (RC(O))2O. Symmetrical acid anhydrides of this type are named by replacing the word acid in the name of the parent carboxylic acid by the word anhydride. Thus, (CH3CO)2O is called acetic anhydride. Mixed (or unsymmetrical) acid anhydrides, such as acetic formic anhydride (see below), are known, whereby reaction occurs between two different carboxylic acids. Nomenclature of unsymmetrical acid anhydrides list the names of both of the reacted carboxylic acids before the word "anhydride" (for example, the dehydration reaction between benzoic acid and propanoic acid would yield "benzoic propanoic anhydride").

Cyanate

Cyanate is an anion with the structural formula [O=C=N]−, usually written OCN−. It also refers to any salt containing it, such as ammonium cyanate.

Potassium cyanate is an inorganic compound with the formula KOCN. It is a colourless solid. It is used to prepare many other compounds including useful herbicide. Worldwide production of the potassium and sodium salts was 20,000 tons in 2006.

Isocyanic acid

Isocyanic acid is a chemical compound with the structural formula HNCO, which is often written as H–N=C=O. It is a colourless substance, volatile and poisonous, with a boiling point of 23.5 °C. It is the predominant tautomer of cyanic acid H–O–C≡N.

In chemical nomenclature, the IUPAC nomenclature of inorganic chemistry is a systematic method of naming inorganic chemical compounds, as recommended by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). It is published in Nomenclature of Inorganic Chemistry. Ideally, every inorganic compound should have a name from which an unambiguous formula can be determined. There is also an IUPAC nomenclature of organic chemistry.

Mercury(II) cyanide

Mercury(II) cyanide, also known as mercuric cyanide, is a compound of mercury. It is an odorless, toxic white powder. It is highly soluble in polar solvents such as water, alcohol, and ammonia; slightly soluble in ether; and insoluble in benzene and other hydrophobic solvents.

Cyanogen bromide is the inorganic compound with the formula (CN)Br or BrCN. It is a colorless solid that is widely used to modify biopolymers, fragment proteins and peptides, and synthesize other compounds. The compound is classified as a pseudohalogen.

Mercury(II) thiocyanate

Mercury(II) thiocyanate (Hg(SCN)2) is an inorganic chemical compound, the coordination complex of Hg2+ and the thiocyanate anion. It is a white powder. It will produce a large, winding “snake” when ignited, an effect known as the Pharaoh's serpent.

Carbonylation refers to reactions that introduce carbon monoxide into organic and inorganic substrates. Carbon monoxide is abundantly available and conveniently reactive, so it is widely used as a reactant in industrial chemistry. The term carbonylation also refers to oxidation of protein side chains.

Compounds of zinc are chemical compounds containing the element zinc which is a member of the group 12 of the periodic table. The oxidation state of most compounds is the group oxidation state of +2. Zinc may be classified as a post-transition main group element with zinc(II). Zinc compounds are noteworthy for their nondescript behavior, they are generally colorless, do not readily engage in redox reactions, and generally adopt symmetrical structures.

References

  1. ↑ Organic Chemistry by Abraham William Simpson
  2. ↑ Encyclopedia of Inorganic Chemistry Bruce King Ed. Second Edition
  3. ↑ Advanced Inorganic Chemistry Cotton, F. Albert / Wilkinson, Geoffrey
  4. ↑ Chemistry Operations (December 15, 2003). "Carbon". Los Alamos National Laboratory. Retrieved 2007-11-21.
  5. ↑ It is an organic compound.

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