carbonylcontaining

Carbonylcontaining compounds are molecules that include at least one carbonyl group, a carbon atom double-bonded to oxygen (C=O). This functional group is highly polar, making the carbonyl carbon electrophilic and the carbonyl oxygen capable of stabilizing negative charge in reaction intermediates. As a result, carbonyl-containing species participate in a broad range of organic transformations, and the chemistry is often dominated by nucleophilic attack at the carbonyl carbon followed by various follow-up steps.

They encompass several major families. Aldehydes and ketones (R-CHO and R-CO-R') are defined by a carbonyl attached to hydrogen or two carbon substituents. Carboxylic acids and derivatives—esters, amides, anhydrides, and acyl chlorides—contain the same C=O motif but with different leaving groups on the carbonyl carbon. Thioesters and metal carbonyls (such as Fe(CO)5) extend carbonyl chemistry to sulfur-containing derivatives and inorganic coordination compounds.

Typical reactions include nucleophilic additions to the carbonyl carbon, with aldehydes generally more reactive than ketones. In carboxylic derivatives, hydrolysis, aminolysis, or esterification converts one derivative into another. Reductions convert carbonyls to alcohols, while oxidations transform aldehydes to carboxylic acids. Alcohols can form acetals, amines form imines, and various condensation reactions (for example aldol condensations) build carbon–carbon bonds.

Carbonyl-containing compounds are ubiquitous in chemistry and biology, underpinning metabolism, sugars, lipids, and many polymers such as polyesters and polyamides, and they remain central targets in synthesis and industrial processes.