Carbonyl—A double bond between a carbon and an oxygen.
Carboxylic acid—A functional group that contains a carbonyl and a hydroxyl group on the same
carbon (RCOOH).
Carboxylic acid derivative—A compound that can be created from a carboxylic acid by nucleophilic
acyl substitution; includes anhydrides, esters, amides, and others.
Chemical properties—Characteristics of compounds that change chemical composition during a
reaction; determine how a molecule will react with other molecules.
Chemical shift (δ)—An arbitrary variable used to plot NMR spectra; measured in parts per million
(ppm).
Chemoselectivity—A reaction’s preference for one location over another within a molecule.
Chiral—A molecule or carbon atom bonded to four different groups and without a plane of
symmetry; thus, it is not superimposable on its mirror image and has an enantiomer.
Chiral center—Atoms that are chiral within a molecule.
Chromatography—A tool used to separate compounds based on how strongly they adhere to a
stationary phase or travel with a mobile phase.
Cis—A molecule in which the two substituents are on the same side of an immovable bond.
Cis–trans Isomers—Diastereomers with different arrangements of substituents around an
immovable bond.
Column chromatography—A type of chromatography that uses a column filled with silica or
alumina beads as an adsorbent, allowing for separation; uses gravity to move the solvent and
compounds down the column.
Condensation reaction—A reaction that combines two molecules into one, with the loss of a small
molecule.