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Author: Sarah Parkes

Cat Links Fundamentals, Inorganic chemistry

Explaining the trend in atomic radius across Period 3

Posted on February 12, 2024February 12, 2024 Sarah Parkes

Before we jump straight in, we really need to define how we measure the radius of an atom … This

Continue readingExplaining the trend in atomic radius across Period 3

Cat Links Organic chemistry

The reactions of acyl chlorides and acid anhydrides

Posted on January 29, 2024April 8, 2025 Sarah Parkes

Acyl chlorides and acid anhydrides are derivatives of carboxylic acids. Acyl chlorides Acyl chlorides are made by chlorinating a carboxylic

Continue readingThe reactions of acyl chlorides and acid anhydrides

Cat Links Organic chemistry

Making and breaking esters

Posted on January 23, 2024April 8, 2025 Sarah Parkes

Esters are a derivative of carboxylic acids and formed from the reaction between a carboxylic acid or an acyl chloride

Continue readingMaking and breaking esters

Cat Links Organic chemistry

Why are carboxylic acids acidic?

Posted on January 9, 2024September 10, 2024 Sarah Parkes

Carboxylic acids are weak organic acids. All acids are proton donors and the more stable the resulting anion (in this

Continue readingWhy are carboxylic acids acidic?

Cat Links Organic chemistry

Naming carboxylic acids and their derivatives

Posted on December 20, 2023September 10, 2024 Sarah Parkes

Carboxylic acids contain the carboxyl functional group, -COOH, which is itself made from a carbonyl group and a hydroxyl group.

Continue readingNaming carboxylic acids and their derivatives

Cat Links Organic chemistry

Aldehyde and ketone chemistry

Posted on November 21, 2023September 10, 2024 Sarah Parkes

Aldehydes and ketones are examples of carbonyl compounds. In an aldehyde the carbonyl group, C=O, is bonded to at least

Continue readingAldehyde and ketone chemistry

Cat Links Inorganic chemistry

Explaining the chemistry of the Group 7, the halogens

Posted on October 6, 2023February 18, 2025 Sarah Parkes

Group 7 consists of the elements fluorine, chorine, bromine, iodine and astatine, and they are known as the halogens. All

Continue readingExplaining the chemistry of the Group 7, the halogens

Cat Links Inorganic chemistry

Explaining the chemistry of Group 2 metals

Posted on August 15, 2023September 30, 2024 Sarah Parkes

When we consider the elements of Group 2 we are invariably only investigating magnesium, calcium, strontium and barium. All isotopes

Continue readingExplaining the chemistry of Group 2 metals

Cat Links Analytical chemistry

Everything you need to know about chromatography

Posted on July 5, 2023January 6, 2025 Sarah Parkes

Chromatography is all about separating a mixture into its constituents by distributing them between two phases – a mobile phase

Continue readingEverything you need to know about chromatography

Cat Links Organic chemistry

Oxidising alcohols to form a carbonyl

Posted on June 13, 2023April 3, 2025 Sarah Parkes

Primary and secondary alcohols are oxidised by common oxidising agents such as potassium manganate(VII), KMnO4, or acidified sodium dichromate(VI), Na2Cr2O7

Continue readingOxidising alcohols to form a carbonyl

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