Discussion: Historical Facts on the Development of Organic Chemistry

In the mid-1700s when chemistry was slowly evolving from the art of alchemy, there were so many
unexplainable differences between the substances obtained from non-living (e.g. minerals) versus living
sources. At this time there was a notion that there is a “vital force” that is essential in synthesizing
substances from living things. This was their reason why it is more difficult to isolate and purify
substances from living things than from non-living sources. One of the first persons who noted this
difference was a Swedish chemist named Torbern Bergmann in 1770 (McMurry, 2016).

By 1816, a French chemist named Michel-Eugene Chevreul made a discovery that soap can be separated
and purified into organic compounds which he termed “fatty acids” (Klein, 2017).  This was the first time
that the “vitalistic theory” was disproved by converting an organic substance (the soap) into tinier organic
compounds (fatty acids) without the need for a vital force.

The “vitalistic theory” or sometimes “vitalism” was further refuted when the proof that organic compounds
can be derived from inorganic substances was made by a German chemist, Friedrich Wohler in 1828
(McMurry, 2016).  Wohler prepared urea (an organic compound) from the inorganic compound
Ammonium cyanate.  This was one of the substantial turning points on the progress and evolution of
organic chemistry.

Discussion: Unique Properties of Inorganic and Organic Compounds

It is important to know the properties of inorganic and organic compounds to distinguish these two
compounds.  Both organic and inorganic compounds can be natural in origin and can also be artificially
synthesized in the laboratory.  A clear distinction between these two compounds can be laid out by exploring
each of their unique characteristics and properties.

In terms of elemental composition, organic compounds have carbon as the principal element and are
essentially present in the structure of the compound.  In addition to carbon, other elements that may be
present in organic compounds include hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur, chlorine.  With respect
to carbon, inorganic compounds differ as these substances do not essentially have carbon atoms in their
structure.  An exception to this generalization is CO2, CO, carbonates (CO32-), and cyanides (CN-), which are all
inorganic compounds (McMurry, 2016).

In terms of the type of molecular bonding, organic compounds usually form carbon-hydrogen bonds while
inorganic compounds do not show carbon directly bonded to hydrogen.  Also, organic compounds mainly form
covalent bonding whereas inorganic compounds form ionic bonding and sometimes along with covalent
bonding or network (Klein, 2017).

In terms of solubility, organic compounds usually do not dissolve in water whereas inorganic compounds are
easily dissolved in water (Klein, 2017).  However, organic compounds generally dissolve in organic solvents
such as ether, alcohol, benzene, and chloroform.  Inorganic compounds do not dissolve in these organic
solvents.

Organic and inorganic compounds also differ in some other properties like melting point, boiling point,
flammability, and ability to form ions.  Melting point and boiling point are important intrinsic properties of
compounds.  These are usually used to identify purity or the other way around to isolate and purify
compounds.  Generally, each compound has unique melting and boiling points. Organic compounds have low
melting and boiling points compared to inorganic compounds which typically have high melting and boiling
points (Klein, 2017).  The stronger the intermolecular interactions or the forces in between each molecule, the
higher will be the melting point.  In the case of organic compounds, the intermolecular forces that are present
are the weaker Van der Waal’s force, dipole-dipole, and hydrogen bonding.  Intermolecular forces present in
inorganic compounds are the stronger ionic forces or ion-ion interaction.  Hence, inorganic compounds have
higher melting points compared to organic compounds. Consider the examples below.

Figure 1.  Melting points vary on the type of intermolecular force.

The boiling point is another intrinsic property of compounds.  Similar to the melting point property, organic
compounds have lower boiling points while inorganic compounds have higher boiling points (McMurry, 2016).
Boiling points also indicate the volatility of compounds, indicating that the higher the boiling point the less
volatile the substance.  This means that organic compounds are more volatile than inorganic compounds.
Intermolecular forces play a major role in the boiling point property since boiling will only happen when the
vapor pressure becomes the same as the atmospheric pressure.  This situation is attained by increasing the
kinetic energy of the molecules through the application of heat or energy.  For organic compounds, the boiling
point is also affected by the length of the carbon-carbon chain, the presence of branching in the organic
molecules, and polarity.

Flammability is another intrinsic property that can distinguish organic compounds from inorganic compounds.
Organic compounds are known to be highly flammable and usually decompose on heating.  Inorganic
compounds are commonly non-flammable and do not decompose upon heating (McMurry, 2016).  A flame test
can be done to differentiate these two compounds.  Aside from this test, electrolysis can also be used to
discriminate the two substances.  Organic compounds do not form ions and are known as non-electrolytes.
This is due to the covalent bonds that link the atoms of the molecule.  Meanwhile, inorganic compounds are
known as electrolytes since these substances form ions when dissolved in water.

Differentiation methods between organic and inorganic compounds have advanced together with the
increasing progress in scientific investigations over many years.  This has enabled chemists to identify and
establish different and unique properties between organic and inorganic compounds.