Organic Chemistry is a subdiscipline of chemistry that studies the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds, which contain carbon in covalent bonding.

Organic chemistry is the branch of chemistry that focuses on the scientific study of organic compounds (compounds that contain covalently bonded carbon atoms). It is primarily concerned with the structure, chemical composition, physical and chemical properties, and chemical reactions of these compounds. Organic chemistry has made many significant contributions to society, such as the synthesis of drugs, polymers, and other natural products. Synthetic organic chemistry is a practical application of organic chemistry that focuses on the design and synthesis of organic compounds for practical purposes.

The term ‘organic’ was coined due to the fact that organic chemistry was initially limited to compounds created by living organisms. This was attributed to a mysterious “vital force” that was present in organic substances and absent in inanimate substances. This theory was disproven when Urey and Miller successfully synthesized urea from inorganic compounds, yet the classification remains in use.

Organic chemistry is a vast science, largely due to the unique ability of the element carbon to form stable bonds with other carbon atoms, known as carbon catenation. This catenation ability of carbon enables it to create molecules with complex structures, thus contributing to the expansiveness of organic chemistry.

Table of Contents

Cleavage of Bonds

Reaction Intermediates in Organic Chemistry

What are Carbenes?

What are Free Radicals?

Carbanions and Carbocations

Transition State in Organic Reactions

Reagents in Organic Chemistry

Types of Reactions in Organic Chemistry

Field Effects in Organic Chemistry

Resonance Effect

Steric Hindrance

Stability of Intermediates

Organic chemistry has been of immense importance since its inception, and is still highly relevant in the present age. It is essential to our lives, as it is used to create everyday items such as food, medicines, paper, clothes, soap, perfumes, and more. Furthermore, it is a vital field of study for chemists and pharmacists, as they use it to synthesize medicines to help alleviate human suffering.

The reactions in organic chemistry occur between organic compounds. In order to gain a better understanding of these reactions, let us delve deeper into the terminologies, classifications, field effects, types of reagents, the stability of intermediates, and properties associated with them.

Introduction to Organic Chemistry

Organic Chemistry Revision for JEE Main and Advanced

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Cleavage of Bonds

Bonds can be broken in two ways:

1. Homolytic cleavage
2. Heterolytic cleavage

Homolytic Cleavage

Heterolytic Cleavage

What is Homolytic Cleavage?

Homolytic cleavage is a type of chemical reaction in which a single bond is broken and the two resulting fragments each have a single unpaired electron. This type of bond cleavage is important in organic chemistry, as it can be used to form new molecules and rearrange existing ones.

If the covalent bonds between two elements are broken in a way such that each of the elements gets their own electron, it is known as homolytic cleavage. This leads to the formation of free radicals.

Homolytic Cleavage of Covalent Bond

In the above figure, we have used a fish-hook arrow to show the movement of electrons. This arrow signifies that there is a movement of only one electron.

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