INTRODUCTION TO ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

2.1 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF ORGANIC CHEMISTRY

Organic chemistry is the area of chemistry that involves the study of carbon and its compounds. Carbon is now
known to form a seemingly number of compounds. The uses of organic compounds impact our lives daily in medicine,
agriculture, and general life.
In theory (Opain, 1923) organic chemistry may have uts beginnings with the big bang when the components of
ammonia, nitrogen, carbon dioxide and methane combined to form amino acids, an experiment that has been verified in
the laboratory Miller, 1950. Organic chemicals were used in ancient times by Romans and Egyptians as dyes, medicines
and poisons from natural sources, but the chemical composition of the substances was unknown.
In the 16th century organic compound were isolated from nature in the pure state (Scheele, 1769) and analytical
methods were developed for determination of elemental composition (Lavoisier, 1748). Scientists believed (Berzelius,
1807) that organic chemicals found in nature contained a special “vital force” that directed their natural synthesis, and
therefore, it would be impossible to accomplish a laboratory synthesis of the chemicals. Fortunately, later in the century
Frederich Wöhler (1828) discovered that urea, a natural component in urine, could be synthesized in the laboratory by
heating ammonium cyanate. His discovery meant that the natural “vital force” was not required to synthesis organic
compunds, and paved the way for many chemists to synthesize organic compounds. By the middle of the nineteenth
century many advances had been made into the discovery, analysis and synthesis of many organic compounds.
Understanding about the structures of organic chemistry began with a theory of bonding called valence theory (Kekule,
Couper, 1858).

2.2 PROPERTIES OF INORGANIC AND ORGANIC COMPOUNDS

Inorganic Compound Organic Compound
High melting point and boiling point. Low melting point and boiling point.
Generally soluble in water and rarely soluble in nonpolar Most are not soluble in water but are generally soluble in
solvents. nonpolar solvents.
Conduct electric current. (electrolyte) Do not conduct electric current. (nonelectrolyte)
Generally inflammable Generally flammable
Ionic bonding Covalent bonding
Reactions are usually slow. Reactions are often very fast

2.3 THE UNIQUE CARBON ATOM

2.3a : Origin of Carbon
Carbon (from Latin: carbo “coal”) is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic
and tetravalent – making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to the group 14 of the
periodic table. Carbon makes up only 0.025 percent of Earth’s crust. Three isotopes occur naturally, ¹²C and ¹³C being
stable.
It is essential to life. This is because it is able to form a huge variety of chains of different lengths. It was once
thought that the carbon-based molecules of life could only be obtained from living things. They were thought to contain
a ‘spark of life’. However, in 1828, urea was synthesised from inorganic reagents and the branches of organic and
inorganic chemistry were united.
Living things get almost all their carbon from carbon dioxide, either from the atmosphere or dissolved in water.
Photosynthesis by green plants and photosynthetic plankton uses energy from the sun to split water into oxygen and
hydrogen. The oxygen is released to the atmosphere, fresh water and seas, and the hydrogen joins with carbon dioxide
to produce carbohydrates.

2.3b : Uses of Carbon

Carbon is unique among the elements in its ability to form strongly bonded chains, sealed off by hydrogen atoms.
These hydrocarbons, extracted naturally as fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas), are mostly used as fuels. A small but
important fraction is used as a feedstock for the petrochemical industries producing polymers, fibres, paints, solvents
and plastics etc. Impure carbon in the form of charcoal (from wood) and coke (from coal) is usef in metal smelting. It is
particularly important in the iron and steel industries.
Graphite is used in pencils, to make brushes in electric and in furnace linings. Activated charcoal is used to
purification and filtration. It is found in respirators and kitchen extractor hoods. Carbon fibre is finding many uses as
avery strong, yet lightweight, material. It is currently used in tennis rackets, skis, fishing rods, rockets and aeroplanes.
Industrial diamonds are usedfor cutting rocks and drilling. Diamond films are used to protect surfaces such as razor
blades. The more recent discovery of carbon nanotubes, other fullerenes and atom thin sheets of graphene has
revolutionised hardware developments in the electronics industry and in nanotechnology generally. 150 years ago the
natural concentration of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere was 280 ppm. In 2013, as aresult of combusting fossil
fuels with oxygen, there was 390 ppm. Atmospheric carbon dioxide allows visible light in but prevents some infrared
escaping (the natural greenhouse effect). This keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain life. However, an enhanced
greenhouse effects is underway, due to a human-induced rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide. This is affectings as our
climate changes.

2.3c : Bonding
Organic compounds – compounds of carbon are held together by covalent bonds that formed by sharing electrons.
In organic chemistry the term bond is used to designate a shared pair of electrons. Carbon has four electrons, this means
that carbon can form a maximum of four covalent bonds. Bonds are usually represented by a short, straight line
connecting the atoms, with each bond representing a shared pair if electrons.
Likewise, since the oxygen atom has an oxidation number of -2, it forms two covalent bonds, as shown in the following
compounds.

Nitrogen, with an oxidation number of -3 forms three covalent bonds.

Note that in all the preceding examples, hydrogen, with an oxidation number of +1, forms only one covalent bond. The
halogens (fluorine, chlorine, bromine, and iodine), all with oxidation number of -1, also form only one bond. Recall that
metals lose electrons to form positive ions and non-metals gain electrons to form negative ions.

2.4 ORGANIC FORMULAS

An empirical formula or simple formula gives the simplest ratio of the different atoms in a compound, whereas a
molecular formula gives the total number of atoms in a molecule. If the molecular formula of a compound is C 4 H8 its
empirical formula is CH2

Molecular formula is not very useful in organic chemistry, where you need to know the structure or arrangement
of atoms and bonds in a molecule. The expanded structural formula shows the exact way in which the atoms are
connected to each other, but molecular formula does not and condensed structural formula shows all the atoms but it
omits the vertical bonds and most of all ghe horizontal single bond these two structural formula are used in organic
chemistry.

Steps in writing condensed structural formula:

1. Draw the 2 – dimensional structural formula for the molecule.

2. Identify the carbib backbond (or skeletal) and any branches or side chains in the structural formula as well as any
functional groups such as halogens (group 7A) atoms.
3. Identify groups of atoms along the backbone in the 2 dimensional structural formula.
 4. Redraw the formula by replacing the identified groups of atoms in the 2 dimensional structural formula with
their condensed structural or semi structural formula.
5. Remove single carbon – carbon covalent bonds from the backbone.
6. If the molecule contains branches or side chains :
a. Condense the structure for the carbon backbone.
b. Use parenthese to enclose group of atoms attached to the chain.
c. Use a subscript number to indicate the number of times this groups occurs at that position.
d. Write the group to the right of the carbon atom of the backbone at the position it is located.

Example 1 : Shirt straight chain hydrocarbons. Molecular formula : C 3H8

Example 2 : Long straight chain carbons. Molecular formula : C 10H22

Example 3 : Branched chain hydrocarbons. Molecular formula : C 5H12

Example 4 : Halogenated hydrocarbons. Molecular formula : C 3H7Cl