INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC

CHEMISTRY

REFF:
S OLOM ON E T A L . , ORG A N IC CHE M I STRY,
2 0 1 4, JOHN W I L E Y & S ON S.
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Organic chemistry is the chemistry of compounds that contain the element carbon.
Carbon compounds are central to the structure of living organisms and therefore to
the existence of life on Earth. We exist because of carbon compounds. Eq. DNA,
Protein, Enzyme
What is it about carbon that makes it the element that nature has chosen for living
organisms?
1. Carbon atoms can form strong bonds to other carbon atoms to form rings and
chains of carbon atoms,
2. Carbon atoms can also form strong bonds to elements such as hydrogen,
nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.
Because of these bond-forming properties, carbon can be the basis for the huge
diversity of compounds necessary for the emergence of living organisms.
ORIGIN OF CARBON
Billion years ago most of the carbon atoms on the earth existed as CH4:
1) CH4, H2O, NH3, H2 were the main components of the primordial
atmosphere.
2) Electrical discharges and other forms of highly energetic radiation
caused these simple compounds to fragment into highly reactive pieces
which combine into more complex compounds such as amino acids,
formaldehyde, hydrogen cyanide, purines, and pyrimidines.
3) Amino acids reacted with each other to form the first protein.
4) Formaldehyde reacted with each other to become sugars, and some
of these sugars, together with inorganic phosphates, combined with
purines and pyrimidines to become simple molecules of ribonucleic
acids (RNAs) and DNA.
STRUCTURAL THEORY OF
ORGANIC CHEMISTRY
Isomer
Isomers are compounds that have the same molecular formula but different
structures.
Constitutional isomers are different compounds that have the same
molecular formula but differ in the sequence in which their atoms are
bonded—that is, their connectivity.
There are two isomeric compounds with molecular formula C2H6O:
1) dimethyl ether: a gas at room temperature, does not react with sodium.
2) ethyl alcohol: a liquid at room temperature, does react with sodium.
Write and Interpret Structural
Formulas
HYDROCARBON
Hydrocarbons are compounds that contain only carbon and hydrogen
atoms.
FUNCTIONAL GROUPS
Functional groups are common and specific arrangements of atoms
that impart predictable reactivity and properties to a molecule.
1. ALKYL GROUPS and THE SYMBOL R
2. PHENYL AND BENZYL GROUPS
When a benzene ring is attached to some other group of atoms in a molecule, it is
called a phenyl group.
The combination of a phenyl group and a methylene group ( -CH2 - ) is called a
benzyl group
 3. ALKYL HALIDES OR HALOALKANES

An alkenyl halide is a compound with a halogen atom bonded to an alkene carbon. In

older nomenclature such compounds were sometimes referred to as vinyl halides.
An aryl halide is a compound with a halogen atom bonded to an aromatic ring such as a
benzene ring.
4. ALCOHOL and PHENOL

Alcohol: The characteristic functional group of this family is the hydroxyl ( -OH)
group attached to an sp3-hybridized carbon atom

Alcohols may be viewed structurally in two ways:

(1) as hydroxyl derivatives of
alkanes and
(2) as alkyl derivatives of water.
Primary (1o), secondary (2o), and tertiary (3o) alcohols :
When a hydroxyl group is bonded to a benzene ring the combination of the ring
and the hydroxyl is called a phenol

5. ETHERS
Ethers have the general formula R-O-R or R-O-R’, where R’ may be an alkyl
(or phenyl) group different from R
5. AMINES
Amines can be considered of as alkyl derivatives of ammonia.
6. ALDEHYDE AND KETONES
Aldehydes and ketones both contain the carbonyl group—a group in which a
carbon atom has a double bond to Oxygen.
7. Carboxylic Acids, Esters, and Amides

Carboxylic acids
Esters
Amides
Amides have the formulas RCONH2, RCONHR’, or RCONR’R”where a carbonyl group
is bonded to a nitrogen atom bearing hydrogen and/or alkyl groups.
NITRILES
pentabromodiphenyl ether
Estradiol Genistein
A soy isoflavone