Organic Chemistry

Name:
Organic Chemistry
Detailed information:
A major branch of chemistry that embraces all compounds of carbon except such binary compounds as the carbon oxides, carbides, carbon disulfide, etc.; such ternary compounds as the metallic cyanides, metallic carbonyls, phosgene (COCl₂), carbonyl sulfide (COS), etc.; and the metallic carbonates, such as calcium carbonate and sodium carbonate. The total number of organic compounds is indeterminate, but some 6,000,000 have been identified and named. These fall into several structural groups as follows:
Cyclic (closed ring)
1. Alicyclic hydrocarbons (properties similar to aliphatics)
   1. Cycloparaffins (naphthenes) (saturated): cyclohexane, cyclopentane, etc.
   2. Cycloolefins (unsaturated): cyclopentadiene, cyclooctatetraene
   3. Cycloacetylenes (triple bond)
2. Aromatic hydrocarbons (arenes): unsaturated compounds; hexagonal ring structure; single and multiple fused rings
   1. Benzene group (1 ring)
   2. Naphthalene group (2 rings)
   3. Anthracene group (3 rings)
   4. Polycyclic group (steroids, sterols)
3. Heterocyclic: unsaturated; usually pentagonal rings containing at least one other element besides carbon
   1. Pyrroles
   2. Furans
   3. Thiazoles
   4. Porphyrins
Combinations of aliphatic and cyclic structures
1. Terpene hydrocarbons
2. Amino acids (some are aliphatic and others combinations)
3. Proteins and nucleic acids (coiled or helical formations)
Organometallic compoundsSynthetic high polymers, including silicones
M Formula:	CnH2n+2
M Formula:	CnH2n
M Formula:	CnH2n−1
M Formula:	ROH
M Formula:	ROR
M Formula:	RCHO
M Formula:	RCOR
M Formula:	RCOOH
M Formula:	CnH2nOn
Important areas of organic chemistry include polymerization, hydrogenation, isomerization, fermentation, photochemistry, and stereochemistry. There is no sharp dividing line between organic and inorganic chemistry; the two often tend to overlap.
See Inorganic Chemistry.