In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin, is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which all the carbon–carbon bonds are single. Alkanes have the general chemical formula CnH2n+2. The alkanes range in complexity from the simplest case of methane, where n = 1, to arbitrarily large and complex molecules, like pentacontane or 6-ethyl-2-methyl-5-(1-methylethyl) octane, an isomer of tetradecane.
Aromatic compounds or arenes usually refers to organic compounds "with a chemistry typified by benzene" and "cyclically conjugated." The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping of molecules based on odor, before their general chemical properties were understood. The current definition of aromatic compounds does not have any relation to their odor. Aromatic compounds are now defined as cyclic compounds satisfying Hückel's Rule. Aromatic compounds have the following general properties:
The structural formula of a chemical compound is a graphic representation of the molecular structure, showing how the atoms are possibly arranged in the real three-dimensional space. The chemical bonding within the molecule is also shown, either explicitly or implicitly. Unlike other chemical formula types, which have a limited number of symbols and are capable of only limited descriptive power, structural formulas provide a more complete geometric representation of the molecular structure. For example, many chemical compounds exist in different isomeric forms, which have different enantiomeric structures but the same molecular formula. There are multiple types of ways to draw these structural formulas such as: Lewis structures, condensed formulas, skeletal formulas, Newman projections, Cyclohexane conformations, Haworth projections, and Fischer projections.
In organic chemistry, the cycloalkanes are the monocyclic saturated hydrocarbons. In other words, a cycloalkane consists only of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a structure containing a single ring, and all of the carbon-carbon bonds are single. The larger cycloalkanes, with more than 20 carbon atoms are typically called cycloparaffins. All cycloalkanes are isomers of alkenes.
Bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) is a type of reaction mechanism that is common in organic chemistry. In the SN2 reaction, a strong nucleophile forms a new bond to an sp3-hybridised carbon atom via a backside attack, all while the leaving group detaches from the reaction center in a concerted fashion.
In chemistry, intramolecular describes a process or characteristic limited within the structure of a single molecule, a property or phenomenon limited to the extent of a single molecule.
In organic chemistry, a cycloalkene or cycloolefin is a type of alkene hydrocarbon which contains a closed ring of carbon atoms and either one or more double bonds, but has no aromatic character. Some cycloalkenes, such as cyclobutene and cyclopentene, can be used as monomers to produce polymer chains. Due to geometrical considerations, smaller cycloalkenes are almost always the cis isomers, and the term cis tends to be omitted from the names. Cycloalkenes require considerable p-orbital overlap in the form of a bridge between the carbon-carbon double bond; however, this is not feasible in smaller molecules due to the increase of strain that could break the molecule apart. In greater carbon number cycloalkenes, the addition of CH2 substituents decreases strain. trans-Cycloalkenes with 7 or fewer carbons in the ring will not occur under normal conditions because of the large amount of ring strain needed. In larger rings, cis–trans isomerism of the double bond may occur. This stability pattern forms part of the origin of Bredt's rule, the observation that alkenes do not form at the bridgehead of many types of bridged ring systems because the alkene would necessarily be trans in one of the rings.
Cyclohexane conformations are any of several three-dimensional shapes adopted by molecules of cyclohexane. Because many compounds feature structurally similar six-membered rings, the structure and dynamics of cyclohexane are important prototypes of a wide range of compounds.
In chemistry, conformational isomerism is a form of stereoisomerism in which the isomers can be interconverted just by rotations about formally single bonds. While any two arrangements of atoms in a molecule that differ by rotation about single bonds can be referred to as different conformations, conformations that correspond to local minima on the potential energy surface are specifically called conformational isomers or conformers. Conformations that correspond to local maxima on the energy surface are the transition states between the local-minimum conformational isomers. Rotations about single bonds involve overcoming a rotational energy barrier to interconvert one conformer to another. If the energy barrier is low, there is free rotation and a sample of the compound exists as a rapidly equilibrating mixture of multiple conformers; if the energy barrier is high enough then there is restricted rotation, a molecule may exist for a relatively long time period as a stable rotational isomer or rotamer. When the time scale for interconversion is long enough for isolation of individual rotamers, the isomers are termed atropisomers. The ring-flip of substituted cyclohexanes constitutes another common form of conformational isomerism.
In chemistry an eclipsed conformation is a conformation in which two substituents X and Y on adjacent atoms A, B are in closest proximity, implying that the torsion angle X–A–B–Y is 0°. Such a conformation can exist in any open chain, single chemical bond connecting two sp3-hybridised atoms, and it is normally a conformational energy maximum. This maximum is often explained by steric hindrance, but its origins sometimes actually lie in hyperconjugation.
In chemistry, a molecule experiences strain when its chemical structure undergoes some stress which raises its internal energy in comparison to a strain-free reference compound. The internal energy of a molecule consists of all the energy stored within it. A strained molecule has an additional amount of internal energy which an unstrained molecule does not. This extra internal energy, or strain energy, can be likened to a compressed spring. Much like a compressed spring must be held in place to prevent release of its potential energy, a molecule can be held in an energetically unfavorable conformation by the bonds within that molecule. Without the bonds holding the conformation in place, the strain energy would be released.
In organic chemistry, ring strain is a type of instability that exists when bonds in a molecule form angles that are abnormal. Strain is most commonly discussed for small rings such as cyclopropanes and cyclobutanes, whose internal angles are substantially smaller than the idealized value of approximately 109°. Because of their high strain, the heat of combustion for these small rings is elevated.
Cyclodecapentaene or [10]annulene is an annulene with molecular formula C10H10. This organic compound is a conjugated 10 pi electron cyclic system and according to Huckel's rule it should display aromaticity. It is not aromatic, however, because various types of ring strain destabilize an all-planar geometry.
In organic chemistry, a ring flip is the interconversion of cyclic conformers that have equivalent ring shapes that results in the exchange of nonequivalent substituent positions. The overall process generally takes place over several steps, involving coupled rotations about several of the molecule's single bonds, in conjunction with minor deformations of bond angles. Most commonly, the term is used to refer to the interconversion of the two chair conformers of cyclohexane derivatives, which is specifically referred to as a chair flip, although other cycloalkanes and inorganic rings undergo similar processes.
A cyclic compound is a term for a compound in the field of chemistry in which one or more series of atoms in the compound is connected to form a ring. Rings may vary in size from three to many atoms, and include examples where all the atoms are carbon, none of the atoms are carbon, or where both carbon and non-carbon atoms are present. Depending on the ring size, the bond order of the individual links between ring atoms, and their arrangements within the rings, carbocyclic and heterocyclic compounds may be aromatic or non-aromatic; in the latter case, they may vary from being fully saturated to having varying numbers of multiple bonds between the ring atoms. Because of the tremendous diversity allowed, in combination, by the valences of common atoms and their ability to form rings, the number of possible cyclic structures, even of small size numbers in the many billions.
Asymmetric induction describes the preferential formation in a chemical reaction of one enantiomer or diastereoisomer over the other as a result of the influence of a chiral feature present in the substrate, reagent, catalyst or environment. Asymmetric induction is a key element in asymmetric synthesis.
Allylic strain in organic chemistry is a type of strain energy resulting from the interaction between a substituent on one end of an olefin with an allylic substituent on the other end. If the substituents are large enough in size, they can sterically interfere with each other such that one conformer is greatly favored over the other. Allylic strain was first recognized in the literature in 1965 by Johnson and Malhotra. The authors were investigating cyclohexane conformations including endocyclic and exocylic double bonds when they noticed certain conformations were disfavored due to the geometry constraints caused by the double bond. Organic chemists capitalize on the rigidity resulting from allylic strain for use in asymmetric reactions.
A-values are numerical values used in the determination of the most stable orientation of atoms in a molecule, as well as a general representation of steric bulk. A-values are derived from energy measurements of the different cyclohexane conformations of a monosubstituted cyclohexane chemical. Substituents on a cyclohexane ring prefer to reside in the equatorial position to the axial. The difference in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) between the higher energy conformation and the lower energy conformation is the A-value for that particular substituent.
An oxocarbeniumion is a chemical species characterized by a central sp2-hybridized carbon, an oxygen substituent, and an overall positive charge that is delocalized between the central carbon and oxygen atoms. An oxocarbenium ion is represented by two limiting resonance structures, one in the form of a carbenium ion with the positive charge on carbon and the other in the form of an oxonium species with the formal charge on oxygen. As a resonance hybrid, the true structure falls between the two. Compared to neutral carbonyl compounds like ketones or esters, the carbenium ion form is a larger contributor to the structure. They are common reactive intermediates in the hydrolysis of glycosidic bonds, and are a commonly used strategy for chemical glycosylation. These ions have since been proposed as reactive intermediates in a wide range of chemical transformations, and have been utilized in the total synthesis of several natural products. In addition, they commonly appear in mechanisms of enzyme-catalyzed biosynthesis and hydrolysis of carbohydrates in nature. Anthocyanins are natural flavylium dyes, which are stabilized oxocarbenium compounds. Anthocyanins are responsible for the colors of a wide variety of common flowers such as pansies and edible plants such as eggplant and blueberry.
The vinyl cation is a carbocation with the positive charge on an alkene carbon. Its empirical formula is C
2H+
3. More generally, a vinylic cation is any disubstituted carbon, where the carbon bearing the positive charge is part of a double bond and is sp hybridized. In the chemical literature, substituted vinylic cations are often referred to as vinyl cations, and understood to refer to the broad class rather than the C
2H+
3 variant alone. The vinyl cation is one of the main types of reactive intermediates involving a non-tetrahedrally coordinated carbon atom, and is necessary to explain a wide variety of observed reactivity trends. Vinyl cations are observed as reactive intermediates in solvolysis reactions, as well during electrophilic addition to alkynes, for example, through protonation of an alkyne by a strong acid. As expected from its sp hybridization, the vinyl cation prefers a linear geometry. Compounds related to the vinyl cation include allylic carbocations and benzylic carbocations, as well as aryl carbocations.
