Chemical compound

Print Cite Share MoreWRITTEN BYRichard O.C. NormanSee All ContributorsRector, Exeter College, University of Oxford. Professor of Chemistry, University of York, England, 1956–87. Author of Principles of Organic Synthesis.See Article History

Chemical compound, any substance composed of identical molecules consisting of atoms of two or more chemical elements.

Reaction types

The electronic features of functional groups are responsible for the types of reactions that are characteristic of each group (see above Functional groups). Because there is a great deal of similarity in the electronic characteristics of the different functional groups, there is a corresponding similarity in the types of reaction that different groups undergo. Just as the properties of the multitude of organic compounds are made more comprehensible by considering the reactions of a specific functional group, so too can the plethora of organic reactions be made more understandable by categorization into common types of chemical reaction, such as substitution, elimination, addition, hydrolysis, condensation, and acid-base and oxidation-reduction reactions.