organic chemistry assignment help

organic chemistry assignment help

Exploring the Fundamentals of Organic Chemistry

1. Introduction to Organic Chemistry

Organic chemistry has a strong tradition of naming a specific reaction to its inventor or inventors, and a long list of so-called named reactions exists, conservatively estimated at 1000. A very recent estimate has 500 new named reactions that cover the period from the year 2000 to 2008. These are nonetheless a very small part of the total number of published reactions. It has a very large database of compounds. Organic chemistry, like all sciences, cannot be characterized by rigid laws and consistent theories. However, it has evolved into a shape that is conceptually distinct from inorganic chemistry.

Organic chemistry is a branch of chemistry that studies the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds, which contain carbon in covalent bonding. The study of structure determines their chemical composition and formula. The study of properties includes physical and chemical properties, and evaluation of chemical reactivity to understand their behavior. The study of organic reactions includes the chemical synthesis of natural products, drugs, and polymers, and the study of individual organic molecules in the laboratory and via theoretical (in silico) study. In the modern era, this field primarily covers the chemical compounds that contain carbon, but historically compounds with carbon were not included (inorganic chemistry), an exception which is still somewhat encountered. Furthermore, many do consider carbon derivatives like carbides and carbonates (which often need modalities in order to distinguish them) to be inorganic. The field also covers the chemistry of hydrocarbons and other carbon-based molecules (like ketones), as well as the lives of all organisms.

2. Key Concepts and Principles in Organic Chemistry

A strong understanding of organic chemistry is vital for a career in a vast array of fields. The principles of organic chemistry find applications in diverse areas, including polymers and materials, energy, pharmaceuticals, and consumer products. The course provides a solid foundation in the fundamental theories and laws governing organic reactions, explores the potential large-scale use of organometallic reactions, and includes discussions on combinatorial chemistry and industrial-scale methods of deriving organic compounds.

The concept of bonding has always formed the core of any chemical theory, as it offers insight into the result of a reaction. The first guiding principle behind a chemical reaction is that of energy – the reactants interact, and as a consequence of this interaction, energy is released. It is this energy release that stabilizes the products. Furthermore, with increased energy release, greater is the stability of the products. All compounds in chemistry contain either covalent or ionic bonds. The three-dimensional arrangement of atoms and bonds is one of the most crucial aspects of organic chemistry. The shape, or molecular structure, of a molecule depends on the spatial arrangement of atoms and the nature of the chemical bonds that hold those atoms together.

Organic chemistry involves a number of fundamental principles, concepts, and theories that are essential for gaining an understanding and awareness behind this discipline. These theories will also serve as a starting point for the understanding of individual reactions and chemical mechanisms. The following are the main concepts and theories of organic chemistry.

3. Common Organic Reactions and Mechanisms

The top-side or bottom-side preference in SN2 reactions has a very simple explanation: the transition state geometry is severely hindered, leaving only one way for the attacking nucleophile to approach the electrophile. Whether the side or the and-system of an alkene reacts in a Diels-Alder reaction is not as obvious. The preference is again based on steric considerations in the elementary step, but since both the diene and the dienophile are often present in the same molecule, leaving it impossible to separate their influences (the dienophile often reacts in an excess), few generalizations can be safely made.

The variety of organic reactions is supported by an equal amount of reaction mechanisms. Knowing these mechanisms is a walk on the “meta-level” of organic chemistry, as a mechanism is what, in general, determines the outcome of a chemical reaction. A plausible mechanism can be proposed for any organic reaction by following a rather limited set of key principles. Nevertheless, realized mechanisms often appear to be more complex than expected for many reactions in this Guide.

In this visual guide, we take a look at the different endeavors that each of the individual types of C-based compounds is up to. This will eventually help us make predictions about what specific reaction pathways are open to a given compound under certain imposed conditions. In addition, going through many variations of the same type of reaction will help us come closer to identifying the general principles of mechanism for a specific type of reaction, as small variations need to be explained. Often, these small variations contain a wealth of valuable information.

The amount of discovered organic reactions is really overwhelming. This is because there are almost no limits to the chemical transformations organic compounds can undergo, including straightforward bond-breaking processes as well as creating complicated molecular structures. Mastering these various mechanisms and biases that determine the course of a given reaction type is what makes for much of the “chemistry sense” of the organic scholar.

4. Applications of Organic Chemistry in Daily Life

For many people, the first – and often last – exposure to the world of organic chemistry is through an “intro to organic” course designed to fulfill a bachelor’s degree requirement. Texts for these courses are full of examples of organic compounds found in nature: drugs, hormones, vitamins, lipids. While this is certainly an important aspect of the study of organic chemistry, it isn’t the only way organic chemistry is practical. After all, the world of organic chemistry has long since surpassed the hypothesis stage: we now have a good deal of evidence to support the idea that organic molecules much more complex than the simple hydrocarbons we made use of when we first started our explorations, can exist and do exist as stable compounds. Organically-derived food, fertilizers, and fabrics are all around us here in the developed world, but around the world, on any given day, one-fourth of the overall chemical industry is at work producing just three key products of synthetic organic chemistry: pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals (or petrochemical intermediates), and polymers. These so-called three Ps – pharmaceuticals, petrochemicals, and polymers – have a combined daily output in chemical manufacturing of over $1.5 billion/day in the first world. A great many of the materials in our world are constructed principally from long chains of covalently bonded organic atoms, and so an understanding of organic chemistry is essential for a grasp of the modern world.

For example, you may wonder what the molding of plastics, the refining of petroleum, the generation of energy, genetic modification, furniture refinishing, and the bleaching of food have in common. They all involve organic compounds and processes that are quite useful in industry or in household tasks. A good course in organic chemistry will leave you well prepared for a variety of advanced career sectors, including not only the biological sciences and the health fields, but also the development of materials and technologies.

This section of the textbook is dedicated to exploring the practical applications of organic chemistry. Students often wonder when they will use the material they’re learning, and we educators don’t always do a good job of illustrating how fundamental scientific principles apply to today’s technologies and products. So this is the story of a few chemical processes involving organic compounds in our everyday lives.

Chapter 4 Applications of Organic Chemistry

5. Challenges and Future Directions in Organic Chemistry

The biggest challenge facing the field of organic chemistry today is to develop more efficient methods for synthesizing complex compounds. Typically, the synthesis of complex organic molecules proceeds in several discrete steps, each of which converts a simple molecular building block into a more complex element. Along the way, the desired functionality must be introduced selectively, in the desired stereochemical arrangement, using an appropriate functional group or set of functional groups. Finally, a series of protecting groups that have been used to direct the product into being replaced with the desired functionality.

The confluence of diverse research efforts in organic chemistry has not only deepened our understanding of chemical reactivity at a fundamental level but also paved the way for the efficient and large-scale production of many complex pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and materials. At the same time, it is important to recognize the challenges facing the field in the 21st century. Complicated synthetic routes requiring many steps and generating large amounts of waste are inherently unsustainable. A key direction for future research will thus be driven by the urgent need to develop methods to make complex molecules more efficiently and with a reduced impact on the environment. This combination of the highest educational and research standards is what makes JOC a leading voice in setting the research agenda in organic chemistry.