In organic chemistry, an amide, also known as an organic amide or a carboxamide, is a compound with the general formula RC(=O)NR′R″, where R, R', and R″ represent organic groups or hydrogen atoms. The amide group is called a peptide bond when it is part of the main chain of a protein, and isopeptide bond when it occurs in a side chain, such as in the amino acids asparagine and glutamine. It can be viewed as a derivative of a carboxylic acid RC(=O)OH with the hydroxyl group –OH replaced by an amine group –NR′R″; or, equivalently, an acyl (alkanoyl) group RC(=O)– joined to an amine group.
Ascorbic acid is an organic compound with formula C
6H
8O
6, originally called hexuronic acid. It is a white solid, but impure samples can appear yellowish. It dissolves well in water to give mildly acidic solutions. It is a mild reducing agent.
A carboxylic acid is an organic compound that contains a carboxyl group attached to an R-group. The general formula of a carboxylic acid is R–COOH, with R referring to the alkyl group. Carboxylic acids occur widely. Important examples include the amino acids and fatty acids. Deprotonation of a carboxylic acid gives a carboxylate anion.
In chemistry, an ester is a chemical compound derived from an acid in which at least one –OH (hydroxyl) group is replaced by an –O–alkyl (alkoxy) group. Usually, esters are derived from substitution reaction of a carboxylic acid and an alcohol. Glycerides, which are fatty acid esters of glycerol, are important esters in biology, being one of the main classes of lipids, and making up the bulk of animal fats and vegetable oils. Esters with low molecular weight are commonly used as fragrances and found in essential oils and pheromones. Phosphoesters form the backbone of DNA molecules. Nitrate esters, such as nitroglycerin, are known for their explosive properties, while polyesters are important plastics, with monomers linked by ester moieties. Esters usually have a sweet smell and are considered high-quality solvents for a broad array of plastics, plasticizers, resins, and lacquers. They are also one of the largest classes of synthetic lubricants on the commercial market.
In chemistry, a ketone is a functional group with the structure RC(=O)R', where R and R' can be a variety of carbon-containing substituents. Ketones contain a carbonyl group (a carbon-oxygen double bond). The simplest ketone is acetone (R = R' = methyl), with the formula CH3C(O)CH3. Many ketones are of great importance in industry and in biology. Examples include many sugars (ketoses), many steroids (e.g., testosterone), and the solvent acetone.
A ketene is an organic compound of the form R′R″C=C=O, where R and R' are two arbitrary monovalent chemical groups. The name may also refer to the specific compound ethenone H
2C=C=O, the simplest ketene.
Monosaccharides, also called simple sugar, are the simplest form of sugar and the most basic units of carbohydrates. They cannot be further hydrolyzed to simpler chemical compounds. The general formula is C
nH
2nO
n. They are usually colorless, water-soluble, and crystalline solids. Some monosaccharides have a sweet taste. But all the compounds which fit into this general formula may not be classified as carbohydrates. For example, Acetic Acid which fits in the formula is not a carbohydrate.
An aldehyde is a compound containing a functional group with the structure −CHO, consisting of a carbonyl center with the carbon atom also bonded to hydrogen and to a R group, which is any generic alkyl or side chain. The group—without R—is the aldehyde group, also known as the formyl group. Aldehydes are common in organic chemistry, and many fragrances are or contain aldehydes.
An acyl group is a moiety derived by the removal of one or more hydroxyl groups from an oxoacid, including inorganic acids. It contains a double-bonded oxygen atom and an alkyl group (R-C=O). In organic chemistry, the acyl group is usually derived from a carboxylic acid. Therefore, it has the formula RCO–, where R represents an alkyl group that is linked to the carbon atom of the group by a single bond. Although the term is almost always applied to organic compounds, acyl groups can in principle be derived from other types of acids such as sulfonic acids, phosphonic acids. In the most common arrangement, acyl groups are attached to a larger molecular fragment, in which case the carbon and oxygen atoms are linked by a double bond.
A hemiacetal or a hemiketal is a compound that results from the addition of an alcohol to an aldehyde or a ketone, respectively. The Greek word hèmi, meaning half(semi), refers to the fact that a single alcohol has been added to the carbonyl group, in contrast to acetals or ketals, which are formed when a second alkoxy group has been added to the structure.
In organic chemistry, the hydroboration–oxidation reaction is a two-step hydration reaction that converts an alkene into an alcohol. The process results in the syn addition of a hydrogen and a hydroxyl group where the double bond had been. Hydroboration–oxidation is an anti-Markovnikov reaction, with the hydroxyl group attaching to the less-substituted carbon. The reaction thus provides a more stereospecific and complementary regiochemical alternative to other hydration reactions such as acid-catalyzed addition and the oxymercuration–reduction process. The reaction was first reported by Herbert C. Brown in the late 1950s and it was recognized in his receiving the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1979.
A dicarbonyl is a molecule containing two carbonyl (C=O) groups. Although this term could refer to any organic compound containing two carbonyl groups, it is used more specifically to describe molecules in which both carbonyls are in close enough proximity that their reactivity is changed, such as 1,2-, 1,3-, and 1,4-dicarbonyls. Their properties often differ from those of monocarbonyls, and so they are usually considered functional groups of their own. These compounds can have symmetrical or unsymmetrical substituents on each carbonyl, and may also be functionally symmetrical or unsymmetrical.
A diol is a chemical compound containing two hydroxyl groups. An aliphatic diol is also called a glycol. This pairing of functional groups is pervasive, and many subcategories have been identified.
An imine is a functional group or chemical compound containing a carbon–nitrogen double bond. The nitrogen atom can be attached to a hydrogen (H) or an organic group (R). If this group is not a hydrogen atom, then the compound can sometimes be referred to as a Schiff base. The carbon atom has two additional single bonds. The term "imine" was coined in 1883 by the German chemist Albert Ladenburg.
Enols, or more formally, alkenols, are a type of reactive structure or intermediate in organic chemistry that is represented as an alkene (olefin) with a hydroxyl group attached to one end of the alkene double bond. The terms enol and alkenol are portmanteaus deriving from "-ene"/"alkene" and the "-ol" suffix indicating the hydroxyl group of alcohols, dropping the terminal "-e" of the first term. Generation of enols often involves removal of a hydrogen adjacent (α-) to the carbonyl group—i.e., deprotonation, its removal as a proton, H+. When this proton is not returned at the end of the stepwise process, the result is an anion termed an enolate (see images at right). The enolate structures shown are schematic; a more modern representation considers the molecular orbitals that are formed and occupied by electrons in the enolate. Similarly, generation of the enol often is accompanied by "trapping" or masking of the hydroxy group as an ether, such as a silyl enol ether.
Dioxolane is a heterocyclic acetal with the chemical formula (CH2)2O2CH2. It is related to tetrahydrofuran by interchange of one oxygen for a CH2 group. The corresponding saturated 6-membered C4O2 rings are called dioxanes. The isomeric 1,2-dioxolane (wherein the two oxygen centers are adjacent) is a peroxide. 1,3-dioxolane is used as a solvent and as a comonomer in polyacetals.
Atomic carbon, systematically named carbon and λ0-methane, also called monocarbon, is colourless gaseous inorganic chemical with the chemical formula C. It is kinetically unstable at ambient temperature and pressure, being removed through autopolymerisation.
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.
Deltic acid or dihydroxycyclopropenone is a chemical substance with the chemical formula C3O(OH)2. It can be viewed as a ketone and double alcohol of cyclopropene. At room temperature, it is a stable white solid, soluble in diethyl ether, that decomposes (sometimes explosively) between 140 °C and 180 °C, and reacts slowly with water.
In organic chemistry, carbonyl reduction is the organic reduction of any carbonyl group by a reducing agent.
