Organic Chemistry Branches

Study Notes

Petroleum Chemistry: deals with the refining of petroleum and the production of petroleum-based products
Synthetic Organic Chemistry: focuses on the synthesis of complex organic molecules
Natural Product Chemistry: involves the isolation, identification, and synthesis of naturally occurring organic compounds
Bioorganic Chemistry: explores the relationship between organic compounds and biological systems
Organometallic Chemistry: studies the properties and reactions of organometallic compounds

Hydrocarbons: contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms
Alkyl Halides: contain a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br, I) bonded to an alkyl group
Aldehydes: contain a carbonyl group (C=O) bonded to a hydrogen atom
Ketones: contain a carbonyl group bonded to two alkyl groups
Carboxylic Acids: contain a carboxyl group (COOH)
Esters: contain a carboxyl group bonded to an alkyl group
Amines: contain a nitrogen atom bonded to one or more alkyl groups
Alcohols: contain a hydroxyl group (OH) bonded to an alkyl group
Ethers: contain an oxygen atom bonded to two alkyl groups

Substitution Reactions: involve the replacement of one functional group with another
Elimination Reactions: involve the removal of a leaving group, resulting in the formation of a multiple bond
Addition Reactions: involve the formation of a new bond between two molecules
Rearrangement Reactions: involve the reorganization of atoms within a molecule

Stereoisomers: molecules with the same molecular formula and bond order, but differing in three-dimensional arrangement
Enantiomers: non-superimposable mirror images of each other
Diastereomers: stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other
Chirality: the property of a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image

Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy: uses the absorption of infrared radiation to identify functional groups
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy: uses the interaction between atomic nuclei and magnetic fields to identify molecular structure
Mass Spectrometry (MS): uses the fragmentation of molecules into ions to identify molecular structure

Petroleum Chemistry deals with refining petroleum and producing petroleum-based products
Synthetic Organic Chemistry focuses on synthesizing complex organic molecules
Natural Product Chemistry involves isolating, identifying, and synthesizing naturally occurring organic compounds
Bioorganic Chemistry explores the relationship between organic compounds and biological systems
Organometallic Chemistry studies properties and reactions of organometallic compounds

Substitution Reactions involve replacing one functional group with another
Elimination Reactions involve removing a leaving group, resulting in a multiple bond
Addition Reactions involve forming a new bond between two molecules
Rearrangement Reactions involve reorganizing atoms within a molecule

Stereoisomers are molecules with the same molecular formula and bond order, but differing in three-dimensional arrangement
Enantiomers are non-superimposable mirror images of each other
Diastereomers are stereoisomers that are not mirror images of each other
Chirality is the property of a molecule that is not superimposable on its mirror image

Infrared (IR) Spectroscopy uses absorption of infrared radiation to identify functional groups
Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) Spectroscopy uses interaction between atomic nuclei and magnetic fields to identify molecular structure
Mass Spectrometry (MS) uses fragmentation of molecules into ions to identify molecular structure