Explanation:
Functional groups are very important in organic chemistry since they are used to determine the type these molecules and therefore, depict the of them.For example,
- Hydroxy groups OH, is specific for alcohols. the general structure for alcohols is R−OH.
In a similar way,
- COOH is the functional group for carboxylic acids with a general structure R−COOH.
- For esters, the functional group is COOR', where esters have the general structure R−COOR'.
with different functional groups, alcohols, carboxylic acids, and esters have different chemical and physical properties and therefore, different identity.
Importance of Functional groups in Organic Chemistry:
Functional group is important in organic chemistry for the following three Basic reasons:- They serve as a basic for nomenclature (naming) of organic compounds.
- They serve to classify organic compounds in classes/families.All compound with same functional group belong to same class.
- A functional group is a site of chemical reactivity in a molecule containing the functional group.
Let us take a specific example; Propane CH3CH2CH3.
Propane is a gaseous molecule at room temperature. Adding a hydroxy group to its structure we get CH3CH2CH2−OH" which is the propanol. Propanol is liquid at room temperature ( change on physical property ). Propanol can react thanks to the presence of the oxygen atom in its backbone, however, propane has very limited reactivity ( change on chemical property ).
There are many other functional groups such as:
Sulfides: R−S−R'
Thiols: R−SH
Ethers: R−O−R'
Anhydrides: R−CO−O−CO−R' Ketones: R−CO−R'
Aldehydes: R−CO−H
Amides: R−CO−N(R')2 or R−CO−NH2 or R−CO−NHR'
Amines: R−NH2 or R−NHR' or R−N(R')2
Nitriles: R−CN
Alkyl halides: R−X where X is an element from group 17.
Alkenes: R−CH=CH−R'
Alkynes: R−C≡C−R'
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