Carbonyl reductionIn organic chemistry, carbonyl reduction is the organic reduction of any carbonyl group by a reducing agent. Typical carbonyl compounds are ketones, aldehydes, carboxylic acids, esters, and acid halides. Carboxylic acids, esters, and acid halides can be reduced to either aldehydes or a step further to primary alcohols, depending on the strength of the reducing agent; aldehydes and ketones can be reduced respectively to primary and secondary alcohols. In deoxygenation, the alcohol can be further reduced and removed altogether.
Chemical synthesisIn chemistry, chemical synthesis (chemical combination) is the artificial execution of chemical reactions to obtain one or several products. This occurs by physical and chemical manipulations usually involving one or more reactions. In modern laboratory uses, the process is reproducible and reliable. A chemical synthesis involves one or more compounds (known as reagents or reactants) that will experience a transformation when subjected to certain conditions. Various reaction types can be applied to formulate a desired product.
NeptuniumNeptunium is a chemical element with the symbol Np and atomic number 93. A radioactive actinide metal, neptunium is the first transuranic element. Its position in the periodic table just after uranium, named after the planet Uranus, led to it being named after Neptune, the next planet beyond Uranus. A neptunium atom has 93 protons and 93 electrons, of which seven are valence electrons. Neptunium metal is silvery and tarnishes when exposed to air. The element occurs in three allotropic forms and it normally exhibits five oxidation states, ranging from +3 to +7.
AcetamideAcetamide (systematic name: ethanamide) is an organic compound with the formula CH3CONH2. It is derived from acetic acid. It finds some use as a plasticizer and as an industrial solvent. The related compound N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA) is more widely used, but it is not prepared from acetamide. Acetamide can be considered an intermediate between acetone, which has two methyl (CH3) groups either side of the carbonyl (CO), and urea which has two amide (NH2) groups in those locations.
CoulometryCoulometry determines the amount of matter transformed during an electrolysis reaction by measuring the amount of electricity (in coulombs) consumed or produced. It can be used for precision measurements of charge, and the amperes even used to have a coulometric definition. However, today coulometry is mainly used for analytical applications. Coulometry is a group of techniques in analytical chemistry. It is named after Charles-Augustin de Coulomb. There are two basic categories of coulometric techniques.
ElectrowinningElectrowinning, also called electroextraction, is the electrodeposition of metals from their ores that have been put in solution via a process commonly referred to as leaching. Electrorefining uses a similar process to remove impurities from a metal. Both processes use electroplating on a large scale and are important techniques for the economical and straightforward purification of non-ferrous metals. The resulting metals are said to be electrowon.
