1.1: What is Inorganic Chemistry?

CHEM 4110: Advanced Inorganic Chemistry · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under not declared, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    Where did the name "Inorganic Chemistry" come from? Well, the term "Organic Chemistry" literally means the chemistry of life. Organic chemistry is the study of carbon-based molecules because the first molecules that were isolated from living organisms contained carbon. On the other hand, minerals and other non-living things seemed to be made of other elements. For some time in our history, scientists believed that the chemical difference between living and non-living things was carbon. So, if "organic" molecules are the molecules of life, then is "inorganic chemistry" the "chemistry of death"? Almost? "Inorganic" chemistry historically meant the chemistry of "non-living" things; and these were non-carbon based molecules and ions.

    The names "organic" and "inorganic" come from science history, and still today a generally-accepted definition of Inorganic Chemistry is the study of non-carbon molecules, or all the elements on the periodic table except carbon (Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). But, this definition is not completely correct because the field of Inorganic Chemistry also includes organometallic compounds and the study of some carbon-based molecules that have properties that are familiar to metals (like conduction of electricity). This makes the field of inorganic chemistry very broad, and practically limitless. A great way to understand the breadth of the field is to take a look at the abstracts in the latest article of Inorganic Chemistry. Or, check out the 20 most-read articles from this past year using the links below.

    Screen Shot 2019-12-04 at 3.26.17 PM.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). An illustration of the historic meaning of "organic" and "inorganic". The modern understanding of organic and inorganic chemistry is not consistent with these historical meanings. (Kathryn Haas; CC-NC-BY-SA)

    External links:

    Practice

    What are the Sub-Fields of Inorganic Chemistry?

    To appreciate the breadth of Inorganic Chemistry, go to the most recent issue of Inorganic Chemistry and look at the titles and visual abstracts. Identify at least 4 sub-fields of Inorganic Chemistry.

    Answer

    There are a lot of correct answers here! The point here is that you notice that Inorganic Chemistry is a very broad field. It has something for almost everyone because many other fields overlap with Inorganic Chemistry. You might notice that some of the sub-fields you identified are also interdisciplinary fields between inorganic chemistry and another discipline. For a list of some of the subfields of Inorganic Chemistry, check this Wikipedia article.

    Inorganic vs Organic Chemistry

    The division between the fields of Inorganic and Organic chemistry has become blurred. For example, let's look at one of the major classes of catalysts used for organic synthesis reactions: organometalic catalysts (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\)). Organometallic catalysts like these, and all organometallic compounds, contain metals that are bonded to carbon or carbon-containing molecules. So, are they "inorganic" because they contain metals, or "organic" because they contain carbon? These illustrate that clear divisions between organic and inorganic chemistry do not exist. Further, metal ions are common in biology and so the idea that metals are "inorganic" and thus classed as "non-living or non-biological" is incorrect. A canonical example is the organometallic catalyst adenosylcobalbumin, which is an important biological cofactor containing a cobalt (Co) ion (Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\), right) and a cobalt-carbon bond.

    Screen Shot 2019-06-27 at 1.33.44 PM.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{2}\): Some examples of organometallic catalysts. These compounds catalyze organic reactions or biochemical reactions and they are compounds that contain both carbon and metals. These compounds are examples of molecules that cannot be defined only as organic molecules or only as inorganic molecules. Adenosylcobalbumin is an example of an organometallic catalyst that is present in biology, further illustrating that "inorganic" metals are important cofactors in biology. This image is based on information on the Wikipedia article on Organometallic Chemistry and is created from images found there; attribution to images created by Alsosaid1987, AdoCbl-ColorCoded, CC BY-SA 4.0 and Smokefoot, Zeise'sSalt, CC BY-SA 3.0. (Kathryn Haas; CC-BY-SA)

    Some of the subfields of Inorganic Chemistry focus on electrical conductivity of inorganic materials (i.e., conduction, superconduction, and semiconduction) and on the study of optical and electronic properties of inorganic nanomaterials. Electrical conductivity is a canonical property of metals, but carbon-based materials also demonstrate electrical conductivity. For example, carbon nanotubes conduct electricity through their extended conjugated \(\pi\) systems. Fullerenes, of which the most famous is Buckminsterfullerene, or Buckeyball (C60), demonstrate interesting properties that are similar to nanoparticles, and when combined with metals and crystallized can demonstrate superconductivity.

    Screen Shot 2019-06-27 at 3.13.58 PM.png
    Figure \(\PageIndex{3}\): This figure is created from information found on the Wikipedia articles for Buckmisterfullerene and carbon nanotubes. Attribution Eric Wieser, Multi-walled Carbon Nanotube, CC BY-SA 3.0. (Kathryn Haas; CC-BY-SA)

    Although carbon nanotubes and fullerenes are allotropes of carbon, their material properties are somewhat foreign to many organic chemists, who traditionally have focused on smaller organic molecules having very different properties. However, these properties are familiar to inorganic chemists. Thus, inorganic chemists have embraced these molecules as "inorganic" due to the fact that they behave more like inorganic materials than smaller organic molecules. This class of carbon-based molecules serves as another example of molecules that are not perfectly matched to the traditional definitions of "organic" and "inorganic" chemistry. Certainly, the future will hold more and more examples of molecules that do not fit into the traditional disciplines of chemistry.

    This page titled 1.1: What is Inorganic Chemistry? was last modified on Wed, 22 Jan 2025 20:40:48 GMT and is shared under a not declared license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Kathryn Haas.