Organic Chemistry Functional Groups

The major functional groups in organic chemistry shown as skeletal chemical structures.

• Alkane: A saturated hydrocarbon containing only single covalent carbon-carbon and carbon-hydrogen bonds.
• Alkene: An unsaturated hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon double bond.
• Alkyne: An unsaturated hydrocarbon containing at least one carbon-carbon triple bond.
• Arene (Phenyl): An aromatic hydrocarbon ring with alternating single and double bonds or a delocalized pi-electron ring.
• Haloalkane (Alkyl Halide): A compound where one or more hydrogen atoms in an alkane have been replaced by halogen atoms.
• Alcohol: An organic compound containing a hydroxyl (-OH) functional group covalently bonded to a saturated carbon atom.
• Ether: A compound containing an oxygen atom connected to two alkyl or aryl groups.
• Epoxide: A cyclic ether consisting of a three-membered ring containing two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom.
• Thiol: An organosulfur compound containing a sulfhydryl (-SH) group bonded to a carbon atom.
• Sulfide (Thioether): An organosulfur compound containing a sulfur atom bonded to two distinct organic groups.
• Aldehyde: A carbonyl compound with the carbonyl carbon bonded to at least one hydrogen atom at the end of a chain.
• Ketone: A carbonyl compound where the carbonyl carbon is bonded internally to two other carbon atoms.
• Carboxylic Acid: An organic acid containing a carboxyl group consisting of a carbonyl group bonded directly to a hydroxyl group.
• Ester: A derivative of a carboxylic acid where the hydroxyl hydrogen is replaced by an alkyl or aryl group.
• Acyl Halide (Acid Halide): A carboxylic acid derivative where the hydroxyl group is replaced by a halogen atom.
• Acid Anhydride: A compound formed from two acyl groups linked by a bridging oxygen atom.
• Amine: A compound containing a basic nitrogen atom with a lone pair, derived from ammonia by replacing hydrogens with alkyl or aryl groups.
• Amide: A compound containing a carbonyl group linked directly to a nitrogen atom.
• Nitrile: An organic compound containing a cyano group with a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom.
• Imine: A functional group containing a carbon-nitrogen double bond, with the nitrogen attached to a hydrogen or organic group.
• Nitro Compound: An organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups (-NO2) bonded to a carbon backbone.