Carbonyl group

From Citizendium
Revision as of 08:00, 24 September 2008 by imported>David E. Volk (more text)
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This article is a stub and thus not approved.
Main Article
Discussion
Related Articles  [?]
Bibliography  [?]
External Links  [?]
Citable Version  [?]
 
This editable Main Article is under development and subject to a disclaimer.

A carbonyl group is a functional group which consists of a carbon atom with is double bound to an oxygen atom.Carbonyl.jpg Closely related chemical groups include carboxylic acids, in which R1 or R2 = OH, and amides, in which R1 or R2 = N(R3)R4. Carbonyl groups are polar and the carbon atom is electrophilic. As such, nucleophilic attack of the carbon atom is a useful reaction for the transformation of chemicals containing a carbonyl group.