Chemical Structure, The Discovery That Changed Science
types of chemical structures
The world of science has witnessed the evolution of man, not only analyzing the traces that our ancestors have left in various areas of the planet, but in that eagerness to understand and discover, they have managed to perfect the analysis techniques, the order and composition of the elements, as well as different data that have improved over time, such is the case of the chemical structure, a discovery that dates back to 1850. What is Chemical Structure chemical structure types types of chemical structures chemical structure examples
There are different discoveries and theories that have changed the way of studying and understanding science, among which the most prominent are the discovery of oxygen and its components, the atomic theory, the synthesis of urea and the chemical structure. It has been precisely the discovery and establishment of chemical theory that has meant a great advance for science thanks to their contributions of understanding.
The chemical structure is defined as the way of understanding the composition of a substance by providing information on the way in which its different atoms or ions are connected , this union will be the one that originates the molecules, as well as the atomic aggregate. This study also includes more specific data such as molecular geometry, electronic configuration and, finally, the crystalline structure, which applies only to some substances. chemical structure types types of chemical structures
To understand this, it is important to name molecular geometry, which consists of the specific and spatial order of each of the atoms that are present in a molecule, along with the different chemical bonds that hold the atoms together. Thanks to molecular geometry, they can be categorized from the simplest molecules such as those of water, to much more complex molecules such as a person’s DNA.
Who is the father of structure?
Due to the great contributions that the chemical structure has generated, it is pertinent to remember who was the first to apply this conceptual dynamic to understand the composition of the elements. It happened on February 19, 1850 when Friedrich Kekulé managed to decompose and understand the structure of benzene , this being the starting point for the study of molecular structure, something very avant-garde for world chemistry. chemical structure examples
Friedrich Kekulé, born in Darmstadt, Germany, explained that he was able to establish the chemical structure after years of study in which he analyzed in all possible ways the nature that connected carbon-carbon atoms , it was there that he came up with proposing a form ring to refer to the benzene molecule. The chemist explained that he was inspired by the shape a snake produces when it takes on its own tail.
Thanks to the chemical structure, it was possible to solve the great question of how carbon atoms can join together with other atoms , in total it was discovered that for each atom, a maximum of four bonds with other atoms can be detected.
How can the structure be determined?
In order to determine the structure of an element, it will be necessary to decompose the substance, resulting in obtaining the coordinates of each of the atoms in the molecule, as well as the distances between them and their angles with bonds. In order to obtain these data , different collection methods can be applied, the most common being nuclear magnetic resonance.
chemical structure examples
At present, the other methods that allow to know in detail the chemical structure are infrared spectroscopy with Raman spectroscopy, electron microscopy and finally X-ray crystallography, also known as X-ray diffraction, being the most modern practice that allows to reproduce 3D models with atomic resolution , in the specific case of substances that have a crystal shape.