CHEMISTRY GLOSSARY

allotropy    →   alotropija

Allotropy (Gr. allos, other, and tropos, manner) is the phenomenon of an element existing in two or more physical forms in the same physical state. The difference between the forms involves either crystaline structure (white, red and black phosphorus), the number of atoms in the molecule of a gas (diatomic oxygen and triatomic ozone), or the molecular structure of a liquid (liquid helium an helium II).

In some cases, the allotropes are stable over a temperature range, with a definite transition point at which one changes into the other. For instance, tin has two allotropes: white (metallic) tin stable above 13.2 °C and grey (nonmetallic) tin stable below 13.2 °C. This form allotropy is called enantiotropy. Form of allotropy, in which there is no transition temperature at which the two are in equilibrium, is called monotropy.

Allotropy does not apply to the substance existing in different physical states as, for example, when ice melts and changes from solid ice to liquid water.

Allotropy is generally restricted to describing polymorphic behaviour in elements, while polymorphism may refer to any material having multiple crystal structures.

anomer    →   anomer

Anomers are diastereoisomers of cyclic forms of sugars or similar molecules differing in the configuration at the anomeric carbon (C-1 atom of an aldose or the C-2 atom of a 2-ketose). The cyclic forms of carbohydrates can exist in two forms, α- and β- based on the position of the substituent at the anomeric center. Anomer are designated α if the configuration at the anomeric carbon is the same as that at the reference asymmetric carbon in a Fischer projection. If the configuration differs the anomer is designated β. For example, α-D-glucopyranose and β-D-glucopyranose, the two cyclic forms of glucose, are anomers.

benzene    →   benzen

Benzene is a colourless liquid hydrocarbon, C₆H₆, b.p. 80 °C. It is now made from petroleum by catalytic reforming (formerly obtained from coal tar). Benzene is the archetypal aromatic compound. It has an unsaturated molecule, yet will not readily undergo addition reactions. On the other hand, it does undergo substitution reactions in which hydrogen atoms are replaced by other atoms or groups.

In 1865, Friedrich August Kekulé purposed the benzene molecule structure as a hexagonal ring which consists of six carbon atoms with alternate carbon-carbon single and carbon-carbon double bond. But such a structure should be highly reactive, and so didn't account for the unreactive nature of benzene. We now know that the best representation for the structure of benzene is indeed, hexagonal, with each C-C bond distance being identical and intermediate between those for a single and double bond. The π-orbitals from each neighbouring carbon atom overlap to form a delocalised molecular orbital which extends around the ring, giving added stability and with it, decreased reactivity. That is the reason the structural formula of benzene represents as a hexagon with a circle in the center which represents the delocalized electrons.

body-centered cubic lattice    →   prostorno centrirana kubična rešetka

Body-centered cubic lattice (bcc or cubic-I), like all lattices, has lattice points at the eight corners of the unit cell plus an additional points at the center of the cell. It has unit cell vectors a = b = c and interaxial angles α=β=γ=90°.

The simplest crystal structures are those in which there is only a single atom at each lattice point. In the bcc structures the spheres fill 68 % of the volume. The number of atoms in a unit cell is two (8 × 1/8 + 1 = 2). There are 23 metals that have the bcc lattice.

borane    →   borani

Borane is any of the group of compounds of boron and hydrogen (B₂H₆, B₄H₁₀, B₅H₉, B₅H₁₁...), many of which can be prepared by action of acid on magnesium boride (Mg₃B₂). Boranes are a remarkable group of compounds in that their structures cannot be described using the conventional two-electron covalent bond model.

carboxylic acids    →   karboksilne kiseline

Carboxylic acids are organic compounds characterized by the presence of one or more RC(=O)OH groups (the carboxyl group). In the systematic chemical nomenclature carboxylic acids names end in the suffix -oic (e.g. ethanoic acids, CH₃COOH). The carbon of the terminal group being counted as part of the chain. They are generally weak acids. Carboxylic acids include a large and important class of fatty acids and may be either saturated or unsaturated. There are also some natural aromatic carboxylic acids (benzoic, salicylic).

cellulose    →   celuloza

Cellulose, (C₆H₁₀O₅)_n, is a polysaccharide that consists of a long unbranched chain of glucose units linked by (1→4)-β-glycoside bonds. Nature uses cellulose primarily as a structural material to impart strength and rigidity to plants. Leaves, grasses, and cotton are primarily cellulose. The fibrous nature of extracted cellulose has led to its use in textile industry for the production of cotton, artificial silk, etc. Cellulose also serves as raw material for the manufacture of cellulose acetate, known commercially as acetate rayon, and cellulose nitrate, known as guncotton. Gunncotton is the major ingredient in smokeless powder, the explosive propellant used in artillery shells and in ammunition for firearms.

carbohydrate    →   ugljikohidrat

Carbohydrates (often called carbs for short) are polyhydroxy aldehydes or ketones, or substances that yield such compounds on hydrolysis. They are also known as saccharides, a term derived from the Latin word saccharum for sugar. Carbohydrates are the most abundant class of compounds in the biological world, making up more than 50 % of the dry weight of the Earth’s biomass. Every type of food we eat can have its energy traced back to a plant. Plants use carbon dioxide and water to make glucose, a simple sugar, in photosynthesis. Other carbohydrates such as cellulose and starch are made from the glucose. Light from the sun is absorbed by chlorophyll and this is converted to the energy necessary to biosynthesize carbohydrates

The term carbohydrate was applied originally to monosaccharides, in recognition of the fact that their empirical composition can be expressed as C_x(H₂O)_y. Later structural studies revealed that these compounds were not hydrates but the term carbohydrate persists.

Carbohydrates are generally classed as either simple or complex. Simple sugars, or monosaccharides, are carbohydrates that can’t be converted into smaller subunits by hydrolysis. Complex carbohydrates are made of two (disaccharides) or more (oligosaccharides, polysaccharides) simple sugars linked together by acetal (glycosidic) bonds and can be split into the former by hydrolysis.

computational chemistry    →   kompjutacijska kemija

Computational chemistry is a branch of chemistry concerned with the prediction or simulation of chemical properties, structures, or processes using numerical techniques.

congener    →   srodnost

Congener is a term in chemistry that refers to one of many variants or configurations of a common chemical structure. Elements belonging to the same group on the periodic table. For example, sodium and potassium are congeners.