CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

glycols    →   glikoli

Glycols are compounds that have two hydroxyl groups present in each molecule. The simplest member is ethylene glycol.

ion    →   ion

Ion is an atomic or molecular particle having a net electric charge. Positively charged ions are cations, negatively charged ones anions.

ketose    →   ketoze

Ketose is any monosaccharide sugar that contains a ketone (carbonyl) group.

dioxin    →   dioksin

Dioxin is a general term that describes a group of hundreds of chemicals that are highly persistent in the environment. The most toxic compound is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin or TCDD. The toxicity of other dioxins and chemicals like PCBs that act like dioxin are measured in relation to TCDD. Dioxin is formed as an unintentional by-product of many industrial processes involving chlorine such as waste incineration, chemical and pesticide manufacturing and pulp and paper bleaching. Dioxin was the primary toxic component of Agent Orange, found at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, NY and was the basis for evacuations at Times Beach, MO and Seveso, Italy.

Dioxin is formed by burning chlorine-based chemical compounds with hydrocarbons. The major source of dioxin in the environment comes from waste-burning incinerators of various sorts and also from backyard burn-barrels. Dioxin pollution is also affiliated with paper mills which use chlorine bleaching in their process, with the production of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastics, and with the production of certain chlorinated chemicals (like many pesticides).

enzyme    →   enzim

Enzyme is a protein that acts as a catalyst in biochemical reactions. Each enzyme is specific to a particular reaction or a group of similar reactions. Many require the association of certain nonprotein cofactors in order to function. The molecule undergoing a reaction (the substrate) binds to a specific active site on the enzyme molecule to form a short-lived intermediate: this greatly increases (by a factor of up to 10²⁰) the rate at which the reaction proceeds to form the product.

explosive    →   eksploziv

Explosive is a compound or mixture that, when ignited or detonated, undergoes rapid violent chemical reaction that produces large amount of gas and heat, accompanied by light, sound and a high pressure shock wave.

octet    →   oktet

Octet is scientific law stating that all atoms, except those of hydrogen and helium, require eight electrons in the outermost energy level to maintain chemical stability.

PCl5 reaction    →   reakcija s PCl5

Reaction with phosphorus pentachloride (PCl₅) is a characteristic of organic compounds containing a hydroxyl group and this reaction is used to identify these compounds in an organic analysis.

primary alcohol    →   primarni alkohol

Primary alcohols are alcohols where the hydroxyl group is attached to a primary carbon atom. Thus, it has the general structure, RCH₂OH, where R is a hydrogen atom or an alkyl group.

mole    →   mol

Mole (mol) is the SI base unit of amount of substance.

The mole is the amount of substance of a system which contains as many elementary entities as there are atoms in 0.012 kg of carbon 12.

When the mole is used, the elementary entities must be specified and may be atoms, molecules, ions, electrons, other particles, or specified groups of such particles. In this definition, it is understood that the carbon 12 atoms are unbound, at rest and in their ground state.