Nomenclature Of Organic Chemicals

Previously, the known organic matter was obtained from animals and plants and other organisms, so this type of compound is called organic matter. By the 1820s, scientists had artificially synthesized many organic substances with inorganic substances, such as urea [CO(NH2)2], acetic acid (CH3COOH), fat, and so on, thus breaking the concept that organic matter can only be obtained from the organism. However, due to historical and customary reasons, people still use the name organic matter.
The historical term "organic" dates back to the 19th century, when vitalists believed that organic compounds could only be biosynthesized. This theory is based on the basic difference between organic matter and "inorganic", inorganic matter is not synthesized by vitality. But later this theory was overturned, in 1828, the German chemist Friedrich Wohler (Friedrich Wohler) for the first time with inorganic ammonium cyanate synthesis of organic matter - urea {CO(NH2)2}. However, this important discovery was not immediately recognized by other chemists, because ammonium cyanate had not yet been prepared inorganic. It was not until H.Kolbe synthesized acetic acid (CH3COOH) in 1844, and Berthelot (M. B. erthelot) synthesized oils and fats in 1854 that organic chemistry entered the synthetic era, and a large number of organic substances were synthesized by artificial methods.
Human beings have a long history of using organic matter, and several ancient civilizations in the world have long mastered the technology of wine making, vinegar making and caramel making. It is recorded that some relatively pure organic substances, such as gallic acid, aconitine and mannitol, were produced in ancient China. In the late 16th century, Western Europe produced ether, ethyl nitrate, chloroethane and so on. Because these organic matter are directly or indirectly from animals and plants, so at that time, people only from animals and plants to get substances called organic matter.
The development of synthetic organic matter has made it clear that there is no clear boundary between organic matter and inorganic matter in physics, but there are some differences in their composition and properties. In terms of composition, all organic matter contains carbon, mostly hydrogen, followed by oxygen, nitrogen, halogens, sulfur, phosphorus, etc., so chemists began to define organic matter as hydrocarbons and their derivatives. In nature, reactions in organic chemistry tend to involve only specific functional groups, leaving the rest of the molecule "on the sidelines"; Complex inorganic reactions tend to have more or less every atom in the molecule contributing to the reaction.