Organic Chemistry Flashcards
What is a general formula for alkanes?
CnHn+2
What are alkanes?
- Hydrocarbons: compound of carbon and hydrogen only
- Saturated: Contain only single bonds
- Bonding: Each carbon forms 4 sigma bonds (overlap of orbitals is directly between the bonding atoms)
- Shape: 4 bond pairs of electrons repel each other equally to get as far apart as possible to form a tetrahedral shape with 109.5 degree bond angle.
Intermolecular forces of alkanes
- London forces
- Non-polar molecule ( C and H have similar electronegativity)
- Random movement of electrons lead to uneven distribution of charge -> instantaneous dipole
- Induces a dipole in a neighbouring molecule
Melting and Boiling points of alkanes
- Low -> methane, ethane, propane and butane are all gases
- Effect of chain length -> As number of carbons increases, the number of electrons increases and the molecule have more surface contact between them -> more / stronger London forces so more energy is needed to overcome IMF.
How does branching affect the boiling point of alkanes?
- The more branched a compound is, the fewer surface area interactions there are between molecules - this is because molecules cannot fit together as neatly and closely.
- Therefore branched molecules have fewer induced dipole-dipole attractions compared to the straight-chain isomers.
- Therefore more branching = lower boiling point.
What is a homologous series?
- A series of organic compounds having the same functional group but with each successive member differing by CH2.
- They have similar chemical properties and a gradation of physical properties is seen.
What is a functional group?
- A group of atoms responsible for the characteristics reactions of a compound
What is meant by ‘aliphatic’ ?
- Compound containing carbon and hydrogen joined together in straight chains, branched chains or non-aromatic chains.
What is meant by ‘alicyclic’
- An aliphatic compound arranged in non-aromatic rings with or without side chains
What is meant by aromatic?
- A compound containing a benzene ring
What is the functional group for the following?
- Alcohol
- Aldehyde
- Alkane
- Carboxylic acid
- Alkene
- haloalkane
- ketone
- Alcohol -> -OH
- Aldehyde -> -CHO
- Alkane -> -C-C
- Carboxylic acid -> -COOH
- Alkene -> C=C
- haloalkane -> -F, -Cl, Br, I
- ketone -> C-CO-C
What is a general formula?
- The simplest algebraic formula for a homologous series
What is a displayed formula?
- Shows the relative positions of atoms and the bonds between them
What is the structural formula?
- provides the minimum detail for the arrangement of atoms in a molecule
What is an empirical formula?
- The smallest whole-number ratio of atoms of the elements in a compound.
What is a skeletal formula?
- Is a simplified structural formula drawn by removing hydrogen atoms from alkyl chains
What are structural isomers?
- Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulae.
What are the three ways a structural isomer can form?
- The alkyl groups are in different places
- The functional group can be bonded to different parts of the parents chain.
- The functional group could be different
What is a molecular formula?
- Shows the number and type of the atoms of each element in a compound
What are stereoisomers?
- Organic compounds with the same molecular formula and structural formula but having different arrangements of atoms in space
What is meant by cis/trans isomerism?
- A type of E / Z isomerism in which the two substituent groups attached to both carbon atoms of the C=C bond are the same.
What is E/Z isomerism?
- Type of stereoisomerism caused by the restricted rotation around a double bond due to pi bonds.
- Two different groups are attached to both carbon atoms of the C=C
What are the different types of covalent bond fission?
- Homolytic fission -> in terms of each bonding atoms receiving one electron from the bonded pair, forming two radicals
- Heterolytic fission -> in terms
of one bonding atoms receiving both electrons from the bonded pair.
What is a radical?
- A species with an unpaired electron
What does a curly arrow mean?
- It represents the movement of electrons showing either heterolytic fission or formation of a covalent bond
What is covalent bond fission?
- A covalent bond fission is a strong electrostatic attraction between a shared pair of electrons and the nuclei of the bonded atoms.
Describe the process of Homolytic fission
- A covalent bond breaks and each electron goes to a different bonded atoms
- This generates two highly reactive, neutral species called radicals.
<~ ~> (UV) - EG : Cl–Cl —> 2Cl’
What are reaction mechanisms?
- They are models that show the movement of electron pairs during a reaction.
Describe the process of Heterolytic fission
- Occurs when a covalent bond breaks and both electrons go to one of the bonded atoms which results in a cation and an anion being formed.
Describe the reactivity of alkanes
- They have a low reactivity with many reagents because:
- All the covalent bonds in alkane molecules have high bonds enthalpies
- The carbon-hydrogen sigma bond gave a very low polarity because the electronegativities of carbon and hydrogen are almost the same
What happens during halogenation?
Of alkanes
- Alkanes react with both chlorine and bromine in the presence of UV to form halogenated organic compounds.
- This process (halogenation) happens by homolytic fission of the halogen molecule, forming radicals.
- A hydrogen atom in the alkane is substituted by a halogen atom.
- Under the right conditions this can happen for all of the hydrogens
What are the three stages of the radical substitution mechanism?
- Initiation -> the formation of the radicals
- Propagation -> two repeated steps that build up the desired product in a side-reaction
- Termination -> two radicals collide and make a stable product.
EXAMPLE -> Chlorination of methane to form chloromethane
Initiation:
- Cl2 -> 2Cl’
- UV or temperature of about 300 degrees Celsius is needed
Propagation:
- CH4 + Cl’ -> ‘CH3 + HCl
- ‘CH3 + Cl2 -> CH3Cl + Cl’
- Step 1 generates an alkyl radical and hydrogen chloride
- Step 2 generates the desired product and regenerates the chlorine radical.
Termination:
- 2Cl’ -> Cl2
- 2’CH3 -> C2H6
- ‘CH3 + Cl’ -> CH3Cl
- A mixture of products is produced by the random collisions between radials. Only one of the products is desirable so this reaction has a low atom economy.
What are some limitations of radical substitution?
- If there is more than two carbon in the alkane you cannot control which carbon the halogen will go on.
- Further substitution can occur
What are alkenes?
- They have a functional group of C=C
- They have a general formula of CnH2n
- They are unsaturated hydrocarbons meaning they are compounds of only C and H which contain a carbon-carbon double bond.
Compare the reactivity of alkanes and alkenes?
- Alkenes are more reactive than alkanes
- Pi bonds are weaker as they have a lower bond enthalpy than sigma bonds and so break more easily.
Describe the halogenation of an alkene with bromine
- Observations -> Orange bromine is decolourised
- General Equation ->
| | | |
–C=C– + BR2 –> –C–C–
| | | |
Br Br
Describe the hydrogenation of an alkene with hydrogen
- Requires -> presence of a nickel catalyst, temperature of 150 degrees Celsius
- General equation ->
| | | |
–C=C– + H2 –> –C–C–
| | | |
H H
Describe the halogenation of alkenes with hydrogen halides (in an inert solvent)
- General Equation
| | | |
–C=C– + HBr –> –C–C–
| | | |
H Br
Describe the hydration of an alkene
- Requires -> Steam at a temperature > 100 degrees Celsius, at 65 atm and with a phosphoric acid catalyst
- General Equation ->
| |
–C=C– + H20 –>
| |
– C-C–
| |
OH H
What is an electrophile?
- A species attracted to an electron rich centre where it accepts a pair of electrons.
What is meant by an addition reaction?
- A reaction of 2 molecules to produce a single product
What is a carbocation?
- A molecule containing a positive charge on a carbon atom, forming ions
What is heterolytic fission?
- When a covalent bond breaks and one atom takes both electrons from the bonded pair forming ions
Describe the process of Electrophilic addition with the example of ethene and BR2?
- Dipole induced in bromine molecule
- Slightly positive bromine attracted to C=C
- Pi bond breaks, new C-BR bond forms and Br-Br breaks
- Br’ uses lone pair to form a new bond to positive carbon atom.
How can the major product of a Electrophilic addition be determined?
- It will be from the molecule which has the halogen attached to the carbon with the least amount of hydrogens.
- Carbocations with C’s attached are more stable than carbocations with H’s attached.
Describe the structure of a Double Carbon-Carbon bond
- Sigma Bonds -> Formed by ‘end on’ overlap of orbitals directly between the bonding atoms. They can rotate freely
- Pi bonds -> formed by ‘sideways’ overlap of p-orbitals above and below bonding atoms. They resist rotation.
- A double bond consists of both these bonds.
- The shape of the molecule will therefore be trigonal planar with a bond angle of 120 as there are three sigma bonding pairs.
What is a monomer?
- A small molecule that combines with many others to form a long chain polymer
What is a polymer?
- A long chain molecule made from many monomers