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1 | Organic Chemistry
ORGANIC CHEMISTY

Organic chemistry – is the study of substances

that contain carbon. The only inorganic carbon
compounds are carbon dioxide and its relatives
(carbonic acid and bicarbonates), cyanides and
cyanate.

Properties of Organic Chemicals  

Organic compounds have a number of common All have the same formula and molecular weight,
characteristics: however they have different structure and have -

1. They are combustible. Complete combustion of
hydrocarbon results in the formation of carbon
dioxide and water.
2.  Their melting and boiling points are lower than
hose for inorganic compound.
 They  are compounds containing only hydrogen
and carbon. They are important because as
energy source they have powered the industrial
revolution of the century.

Table salt, sodium chloride, a common inorganic

compound has a molecular weight of 58.5 g,
melting point 8010C and boiling point of 1413oC.

Butane, a hydrocarbon fuel has a molecular Types of hydrocarbons:

weight of 58.12 g, a melting point -138oC and 1.  Alkanes – hydrocarbons with single bonds
boiling point of -0.5oC. between all carbon atoms
3.  Their solubility in water is limited.

While table salt has a solubility of 350 to 400 g/L,

butane is only slightly soluble in water.

4.  They undergo molecular reactions opposed to 2.  Alkenes – hydrocarbons with at least one
ionic reactions. double bond between two adjacent carbon atoms
5. They can have very high molecular weights.
Organic molecular weights vary from 16 for
methane to 10,000 for polymers.

6 .  They are isomeric (different compounds with 3.  Alkynes – hydrocarbons with at least one triple
same chemical formula). bond between two adjacent carbon atom.

For example C5H12 can be any of three different

compounds, n-pentane, iso pentane, or neo
pentane.

 
4.  Aromatic hydrocarbon – are ringed carbon
compounds that have effectively one and a half
pairs of electron bonding adjacent carbon atoms. Naming Straight chain hydrocarbon

1.  All alkanes end with “ane”; alkenes (with

double bond) with “ene”, and all alkynes (triple
bond) with “yne”

This antique structure provides stability and

different chemical properties. Many aromatic
compounds are formed from the basic six-carbon
2. Indicate the location of double bond or triple
structure, the benzene ring.
bond when it can be in more than one location.  
Naming Hydrocarbons
This is done by numeric prefix indicating the
Properties of the First 10 Alkanes number of carbon atom with double bond. The
number is always lowest possible number.
Name                 As Prefix              Number of
carbons

Methane              meth-                                 1

Ethane                  eth-                                     2  

Propane              prop-                                  3  Naming of branched hydrocarbon

Butane                 but-                                     4  A branched hydrocarbon are those that have one
or more additional chains attached to the main or
Pentane             pent-                                    5
longest chain. Branched chain or substituent
Hexane              hex-                                     6 group are named by the length of the group and
its location on the longest chain. If there are more
Heptane           hept-                                   7 than one substituent group, the groups are
Octane              oct-                                     8 alphabetically in the prefix listing.

Nonane             non-                                   9

Decane              dec-                                  10

 

3, If there are more than one of the substituent
group, the number is repeated and a di, tri, is
placed ahead of the substituent name. The rule
are the same for alkenes and alkynes except that
names end in “ene” for alkenes, and “yne” for
alkynes. The position is indicated by named  by
bond position.
Hydrocarbon Fuels
Hydrocarbon fuels comprise some 88% of world’s
energy supplies at present. The three major fuels
are petroleum or crude oil, coal and natural gas.
Petroleum is a complex mixture of organic
carbons, primarily alkanes. It also contains small
amounts of nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur.  We are beginning to reduce the negative
Coal is a complex mixture. A large percentage of
the carbon in coal is contained in linked aromatic
rings. Small amount of nitrogen and oxygen are
present in coal. The most troublesome
component of coal is sulfur.
The burning of coal and petroleum by industries
and power plants liberates huge amount of sulfur
dioxide, which reacts with atmospheric water and
oxygen to produce sulfuric acid. This sulfuric acid
is a component of acid rain which lowers pH of
soil and fresh water bodies resulting in substantial
damage to natural environment.
Natural gas is primarily methane, but it contains
small amount of other short chained hydrocarbon
such as ethane.
Halogenated Organics
This includes the halogens. Flourine, chlorine,
bromine, iodine, and astatine. -chlorine is widely
used in the industry as well as water and
wastewater treatment plants. Used in manufacture
of polyvinylchloride, chlorinated hydrocarbons
and water purification and as flame retardant
compounds.
Flourine is used in the production flourides and it
is an active constituent of flouridating compounds
in toothpaste. -brominated and chlorinated
organics are commonly used as pesticide
-chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) function as aerosol
propellants and refrigerants and they play a role
in the manufacture of disposable styrofoam
plastics.  CFCs have been implicated in the
destruction of ozone layer in upper atmosphere.
Pentachlorophenol this formulation is used as
termite insecticide and wood preservative but has
been associated with several health effects.
Thus halogenated organics are of great benefit to
the way of life, yet they pose a serious threat to
the environment.
environmental effect of halogenated organics by
restricting their use to more critical applications.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is
considering a ban on chlorine and chlorinated
compounds due to their danger to humans and
environment.