Chapter 2. An Introduction to Environmental Organic Chemicals

Summary

It is the premise of this book that each chemical's structure dictates its “personality” and provides a systematic basis with which to understand and predict that chemical's behavior in the environment. Hence, the model of organic compounds is reviewed in which atoms are connected by bonds and the electrons in those bonds are unevenly distributed. Further, the special situations, in which electrons move throughout regions of molecules containing more than one atom (i.e., are delocalized) are described. Finally, some of the common nomenclature used in environmental chemistry is illustrated for hydrocarbons, organohalogens, and substances containing oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-, and phosporus-containing functional groups.