A substance consisting of two or more components is a complex organic or mineral compound. Depending on the accessory, its characteristics, composition and other indicators are determined. Chemical compounds are present in large quantities in the environment. Some of them have a beneficial effect, and some have a detrimental effect on living organisms. Mineral compounds are present in inanimate nature. These, in particular, include sulfur, graphite, sand and others. There are several signs by which an organic or mineral compound is determined.
History reference
The concept of "organic compound" appeared in the early stages of the development of chemical science. This class includes substances in which carbon is present (except carbonic acid, cyanides, carbides, carbonates, carbon monoxide). At a time when vitalistic views prevailed, continuing the traditions of Pliny the Elder and Aristotle on the division of the whole world into the inanimate and living, the substances were divided depending on which kingdom they belonged to: animal or plant or mineral. In addition, it was believed that for the synthesis of the former, a special “life force” was needed. In this regard, it was impossible to obtain organic from inorganic matter . However, this assumption was refuted in 1828 by Veler. He synthesized organic urea from inorganic ammonium cyanate. The specified division, however, has been preserved in terminology to the present. What are the criteria for determining an organic or mineral compound? More on this later in the article.
General information
The most extensive class today are considered organic compounds. There are currently more than ten million of them. This diversity is due to the special property of carbon to form atomic chains. This, in turn, is due to the stability of communication. The carbon-carbon chain can be single or multiple - triple, double. With increasing multiplicity, the bond energy (stability) also increases, while the length, on the contrary, decreases. Due to the high valency of carbon and the ability to form such chains, structures of different dimensions (volumetric, flat, linear) are formed. Mineral species are compounds found in nature. These substances have a special composition and structure, physical characteristics. In general, the structure of inorganic substances is the same. The composition may vary within certain limits. A feature of mineral compounds is the regular and correct arrangement of atoms. The foundations of the taxonomy of these substances were laid in 1814 by Berzelius.
Composition as one of the main distinguishing features of substances
Belonging to one or another species is determined by the components of the composition. A substance is an organic or mineral compound having a specific structure and composition. The main groups of substances of biological origin include proteins, carbohydrates, lipids. Nucleic acids in this class, in addition to carbon, contain mainly nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and oxygen. These elements are part of the "classical" organic compounds as the main ones, as a rule. In this case, substances can contain a variety of components. Thus, the main feature in accordance with which it is determined which substance is represented - an organic or mineral compound - is the presence in the composition of carbon and the basic elements mentioned above.
The concept of a mineral compound can be studied by considering a variety of natural substances - pomegranates. They have various physical characteristics. They depend on the composition, despite changes in which, the structure remains the same. Here we can only say about the differences in the positions of certain atoms and a number of interplanar distances.
Classification of Organic Compounds
To date, the IUPAC nomenclature is used. The classification of organic compounds in this system is based on an important principle. In accordance with it, the characteristics of a substance at a first approximation are determined by two main criteria. The first is the carbon skeleton (the structure of organic compounds), and the second is its functional groups. In accordance with the nature of the structure of the substance is divided into cyclic and acyclic. The second, in turn, include unsaturated and ultimate. The group of cyclic substances includes heterocyclic and carbocyclic. Some formulas of organic compounds:
- CH3CH2CH2COOH - butyric acid.
- CH3COCH3 - acetone.
- CH3COOC2H5 - ethyl acetate.
- CH3CH (OH) COOH - lactic acid.
Structural analysis
Today, organic chemical compounds are characterized using different methods. X-ray analysis (crystallography) is considered the most accurate. However, the use of this method requires a high-quality crystal of the required size, which allows one to obtain high resolution. In this regard, crystallography is used less frequently. Elemental analysis is a destructive method that is used to quantify the content of components in a molecule. To prove the absence or presence of specific functional groups, infrared spectroscopy is used. Mass spectrometry is the determination of the molecular weight of a substance and fragmentation methods.
Chemical properties of organic compounds. Carboxylic acids
Human life is closely related to these substances. Many people know such names as acetic, formic, citric acid. These compounds are used in the manufacture of medicines (acetylsalicylic acid), in the food industry, as well as for the production of soaps and synthetic detergents. Some compounds are produced by insects (ants, for example) and serve as protective equipment. Biochemical processes taking place at the cellular level are associated with pyruvic acid, and during the oxidation of many substances that penetrate the human body, acetic or lactic acid is formed. When considering the structure of the carboxyl group, the presence of a double C = O bond in it should be noted.
In this regard, it should be attributed to unsaturated functional groups. In addition, in the structure of substances there is a bond - - a mobile hydrogen atom. The general properties of these compounds are observed in stearic, acetic, and
acrylic acids, and formic acid combines not only the basic characteristics of acids, but also aldehydes. Depending on the radical with which the carboxyl group is bonded, aromatic, unsaturated, limit and other substances are distinguished. In accordance with the number of groups in the molecule, dibasic, monobasic, and others are isolated. When considering some characteristics of substances, some similarities between inorganic and organic acids can be noted. For example, both substances are able to interact with metals, bases.
Aromatic hydrocarbons
These are organic compounds in which hydrogen, carbon and benzene nuclei are present. The most important and “classical” representatives of this group are benzene (I) and homologues (dimethylbenzene, methylbenzene). There are many aromatic hydrocarbons with benzene nuclei. These include, for example, diphenyl C6H5-C6H5, looking at the formula of which, one can easily understand which substance is an organic or mineral compound. Coal coking products are used as the main source of aromatic hydrocarbons. So, from a ton of coal tar an average of one and a half kilograms of toluene, 3.5 kg of benzene, and two kilograms of naphthalene are obtained.
The main characteristics of aromatic hydrocarbons
In their chemical properties, aromatic carbons differ from alicyclic unsaturated complex substances. In this regard, a separate group is defined for them. Under the influence of nitric, sulfuric acids, halogens and other reagents, aromatic hydrocarbons replace hydrogen atoms. As a result, sulfonic acids, halogenobenzenes and others are formed. All these substances are intermediate products used in the manufacture of dyes, medicines.
Alkanes
This group of complex substances, which includes the least active compounds. All the - and - bonds present in them are single. This leads to the inability of alkanes to participate in addition reactions. When chlorinating these complex substances, starting with propane, the 1st chlorine atom can replace various hydrogen atoms. The direction of this process will depend on the strength of the CH bond. The weaker the chain, the faster the substitution of a particular atom. At the same time, primary bonds usually have greater strength, secondary bonds are more stable than tertiary ones, etc.
Participation in reactions
Different reactivity can lead to the fact that only one of the likely products will prevail. At a temperature of 25 degrees, chlorination in the secondary chain occurs four and a half times faster than in the primary. Fluorination of alkanes proceeds at a high, often explosive, rate. In this case, various polyfluoro derivatives of the starting material are formed. The energy released during the reaction is so great that it provokes in some cases the decomposition of product molecules into radicals. As a result, the reaction rate increases like an avalanche, which leads to explosions even at fairly low temperatures. A feature of fluorination of alkanes is the possibility of destruction by the fluorine atoms of the carbon skeleton and the formation of CF4, the final product.