Organic Compounds

What are the two main groups of organic compounds?

Organic compounds are divided into two main groups. Hydrocarbons comprise compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms. They can be further classified as alkanes (only having a single carbon bond), alkenes (having a double carbon bond), alkynes (having a triple carbon bond), and arenes (carbons formed into a cyclic ring call benzene).

The second group of organic compounds is defined by a functional group that has replaced one of the hydrogen atoms in the molecule. Functional groups can be a single atom (like F, Cl, Br, or I) or a combination of atoms (NH₂, OH, C=O, or SH). Functional groups influence the chemical reactivity of organic molecules and are important in organic synthesis. Common functional groups include oxygen-containing groups (alcohols, ethers, aldehydes, ketones, carboxylic acids, and carboxylic acid esters), nitrogen-containing groups (amines and amides), and sulfur-containing groups (thiols, thioethers, and thioesters). To find these specific functional groups, use the Fisher ScientificChemical Structure Search.

What is organic synthesis?

Because of the almost infinite number of ways in which carbon can bond with itself and other elements, it’s no surprise that out of the millions of known organic compounds about 95 percent have highly diverse structures. Organic synthesis research is when scientists take building blocks (small molecules having those important functional groups), organic reagents (inorganic molecules, which make up the majority of the periodic table, or organic reactive molecules), solvents, and even catalysts and react them in new ways, creating new organic compounds that add to the already wide range of applications in all aspects of modern life. Another important aspect of organic synthesis research is purification and analysis of the reaction. Purification through crystallization, distillation, extraction, and chromatography allows for the new molecule of interest to be isolated. Analysis allows for the characterization of the molecule.