Secondary (chemistry)Secondary is a term used in organic chemistry to classify various types of compounds (e. g. alcohols, alkyl halides, amines) or reactive intermediates (e. g. alkyl radicals, carbocations). An atom is considered secondary if it has two 'R' Groups attached to it. An 'R' group is a carbon containing group such as a methyl (CH3 ). A secondary compound is most often classified on an alpha carbon (middle carbon) or a nitrogen. The word secondary comes from the root word 'second' which means two.
Wacker processThe Wacker process or the Hoechst-Wacker process (named after the chemical companies of the same name) refers to the oxidation of ethylene to acetaldehyde in the presence of palladium(II) chloride and copper(II) chloride as the catalyst. This chemical reaction was one of the first homogeneous catalysis with organopalladium chemistry applied on an industrial scale. The Wacker reaction was first reported by Smidt et al. The development of the chemical process now known as the Wacker process began in 1956 at Wacker Chemie.
Chemical compoundA chemical compound is a chemical substance composed of many identical molecules (or molecular entities) containing atoms from more than one chemical element held together by chemical bonds. A molecule consisting of atoms of only one element is therefore not a compound. A compound can be transformed into a different substance by a chemical reaction, which may involve interactions with other substances. In this process, bonds between atoms may be broken and/or new bonds formed.
Copper in biologyCopper is an essential trace element that is vital to the health of all living things (plants, animals and microorganisms). In humans, copper is essential to the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes. The human body has complex homeostatic mechanisms which attempt to ensure a constant supply of available copper, while eliminating excess copper whenever this occurs. However, like all essential elements and nutrients, too much or too little nutritional ingestion of copper can result in a corresponding condition of copper excess or deficiency in the body, each of which has its own unique set of adverse health effects.
Chemical polarityIn chemistry, polarity is a separation of electric charge leading to a molecule or its chemical groups having an electric dipole moment, with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end. Polar molecules must contain one or more polar bonds due to a difference in electronegativity between the bonded atoms. Molecules containing polar bonds have no molecular polarity if the bond dipoles cancel each other out by symmetry. Polar molecules interact through dipole-dipole intermolecular forces and hydrogen bonds.
ElectrochemistryElectrochemistry is the branch of physical chemistry concerned with the relationship between electrical potential difference, as a measurable and quantitative phenomenon, and identifiable chemical change, with the potential difference as an outcome of a particular chemical change, or vice versa. These reactions involve electrons moving via an electronically-conducting phase (typically an external electrical circuit, but not necessarily, as in electroless plating) between electrodes separated by an ionically conducting and electronically insulating electrolyte (or ionic species in a solution).
Functional groupIn organic chemistry, a functional group is a substituent or moiety in a molecule that causes the molecule's characteristic chemical reactions. The same functional group will undergo the same or similar chemical reactions regardless of the rest of the molecule's composition. This enables systematic prediction of chemical reactions and behavior of chemical compounds and the design of chemical synthesis. The reactivity of a functional group can be modified by other functional groups nearby.
Chemical reactionA chemical reaction is a process that leads to the chemical transformation of one set of chemical substances to another. Classically, chemical reactions encompass changes that only involve the positions of electrons in the forming and breaking of chemical bonds between atoms, with no change to the nuclei (no change to the elements present), and can often be described by a chemical equation. Nuclear chemistry is a sub-discipline of chemistry that involves the chemical reactions of unstable and radioactive elements where both electronic and nuclear changes can occur.
Organic redox reactionOrganic reductions or organic oxidations or organic redox reactions are redox reactions that take place with organic compounds. In organic chemistry oxidations and reductions are different from ordinary redox reactions, because many reactions carry the name but do not actually involve electron transfer. Instead the relevant criterion for organic oxidation is gain of oxygen and/or loss of hydrogen, respectively. Simple functional groups can be arranged in order of increasing oxidation state.
Chemical speciesA chemical species is a chemical substance or ensemble composed of chemically identical molecular entities that can explore the same set of molecular energy levels on a characteristic or delineated time scale. These energy levels determine the way the chemical species will interact with others (engaging in chemical bonds, etc.). The species can be an atom, molecule, ion, or radical, and it has a specific chemical name and chemical formula. The term is also applied to a set of chemically identical atomic or molecular structural units in a solid array.
