Competition of hydrogen-bond acceptors for the strong carboxyl donor

T Steiner1

  • 1Institut für Chemie - Kristallographie, Freie Universität Berlin, Takustrasse 6, D-14195 Berlin, Germany. steiner@chemie.fu-berlin.de

Related Concept Videos

Hydrogen Bonds00:26

Hydrogen Bonds

Hydrogen BondsHydrogen bonds are weak attractions between atoms that have formed other chemical bonds. One of these atoms is electronegative, like oxygen, and has a partial negative charge. The other is a hydrogen atom that has bonded with another electronegative atom and has a partial positive charge.Hydrogen Bonds Control the World!Because hydrogen has very weak electronegativity when it binds with a strongly electronegative atom, such as oxygen or nitrogen, electrons in the bond are...
Acid Strength and Molecular Structure03:05

Acid Strength and Molecular Structure

Binary Acids and Bases
In the absence of any leveling effect, the acid strength of binary compounds of hydrogen with nonmetals (A) increases as the H-A bond strength decreases down a group in the periodic table. For group 17, the order of increasing acidity is HF < HCl < HBr < HI. Likewise, for group 16, the order of increasing acid strength is H2O < H2S < H2Se < H2Te. Across a row in the periodic table, the acid strength of binary hydrogen compounds increases with increasing...
Electrophiles02:28

Electrophiles

This lesson explains the definition, classification, and characteristic features of an electrophile that are key features of nucleophilic substitution reactions. An analysis of their charge and orbital picture helps understand their reactivity for seeking electrons. Electrophiles can be classified into positive and neutral species. Other classes include free radicals and polar functional groups.
While a positive electrophile, like a proton, reacts due to its vacant, low-energy 1s orbital, the...
Acidity and Basicity of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives01:25

Acidity and Basicity of Carboxylic Acid Derivatives

Carboxylic acids are the strongest among organic acids, as they readily lose the hydroxyl proton to form a resonance-stabilized carboxylate ion. In comparison, the acid derivatives lack acidic hydrogens directly attached to a functional group. In these compounds, the acidic nature arises from their ability to lose α hydrogens, making them weakly acidic.
The relative acidic strength of the derivatives can be explained based on the extent of resonance stabilization of the conjugate base. The...
Reactions of Carboxylic Acids: Introduction01:41

Reactions of Carboxylic Acids: Introduction

Carboxylic acids possess an acidic –COOH functional group. The acidity can be attributed to the resonance stabilization of their conjugate base, wherein the negative charge is delocalized over both oxygen atoms.
Hydrogen Bonds01:04

Hydrogen Bonds

A hydrogen bond is formed when a weakly positive hydrogen atom already bonded to one electronegative atom (for example, the oxygen in the water molecule) is attracted to another electronegative atom from another polar molecule, such as water (H2O), hydrogen fluoride (HF), or ammonia (NH3). The huge electronegativity difference between the H atom (2.1) and the atom to which it is bonded (4.0 for an F atom, 3.5 for an O atom, or 3.0 for an N atom), combined with the very small size of an H atom...