Organic chemistry plays a important role in human life, especially in the food industry. It is used to enhance the taste, aroma, and shelf life of food products, as well as in the production of food and feed additives. Organic chemistry also helps ensure the quality and safety of food products and reduces the impact of industrial pollution.
Everything around us is composed of chemicals, and chemistry is essential in our daily lives because it influences our fundamental needs for food, clothing, healthcare, agricultural production, energy, and clean air, water, and soil. Let’s explore why chemistry is so important.
Basic principles of organic chemistry
This review covers fundamental principles of organic chemistry, encompassing the structure of carbon compounds, various types of bonds, chemical reactions, and the defining characteristics of organic compounds. The basic principles of organic chemistry include understanding the bonding and behavior of carbon atoms, as they can form stable covalent bonds with many other elements, especially hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and halogens.
This discipline also involves studying the functional groups, which are specific groupings of atoms within molecules that determine the chemical reactions those molecules will undergo. Additionally, organic chemistry explores isomerism, where compounds with the same molecular formula can have different structures and properties. Reaction mechanisms, which describe the step-by-step process by which chemical reactions occur, are also fundamental to the field, providing insight into the pathways and intermediates involved in organic transformations.
Why organic chemistry plays an important role in human life
Chemistry seems very profound, but it is actually closely related to life. Human life cannot be separated from organic matter, and chemistry has a wide and close connection with social life. In particular, organic chemistry plays an important role in daily life. When I first came into contact with organic chemistry in high school, I developed a strong interest in it. Although there are certain difficulties in the learning process, I can skillfully use organic chemistry to explain life phenomena and feel deeply benefited. Therefore, exploring the wide application of organic chemistry in life has very important practical significance. In view of this.
Additionally, organic chemistry is integral to the creation of materials that improve our quality of life. From the plastics used in countless products to the synthetic fibers in our clothing, the principles of organic chemistry are employed to design and manufacture these materials. Organic compounds are also essential in the development of cosmetics, cleaning agents, and fuels. The ability to manipulate organic molecules allows for innovations that lead to more efficient and sustainable products, highlighting the profound impact of organic chemistry on our everyday existence.
Examples of Organic Chemistry in human life
Organic Chemistry in Food
Organic chemistry is closely related to our lives. Organic chemistry in the field of food is one of the applications of organic chemistry in life. In the transportation and preservation of food, from the perspective of health, in order to facilitate preservation, maintain or improve the nutritional value of food, food additives came into being. Different types of food additives have different ingredients.
such as bleaching agents, leavening agents, enzyme preparations, preservatives, etc. Bleaching agents are factors that destroy and inhibit the color of food, and achieve the purpose of bleaching through oxidation reactions; leavening agents are mainly the effect of yeast, which is an active microorganism and has no harm to the human body. The fermentation process is a chemical change and is also the most scientific and nutritious method for making pastries; enzyme preparations have substances with biocatalytic enzyme characteristics.
The chemical nature of enzymes is protein or RNA. After purification and processing, they catalyze various chemical reactions in the food processing process, accelerate the food processing process and improve the quality of food products; preservative potassium sorbate (CH3CH) uses sorbic acid (C6H8O2) and potassium carbonate (K2CO3) as raw materials to achieve efficient and safe preservation and extend the shelf life of food. It is harmless to the human body when used in moderation.
Organic Chemistry in the Field of Environment
Organic chemistry is an emerging high-tech technology in environmental protection. The application of organic chemistry in environmental protection can inhibit the generation of some pollutants. Therefore, organic chemistry in the field of environment is also another field of application of organic chemistry in life.
In recent years, white pollution, waste treatment, energy emission problems, etc. are long-standing environmental problems. Coal smoke, acid rain, automobile exhaust, organochlorine pesticides, etc. have affected our environment to varying degrees.
The application of organic chemistry in the field of environment can reduce the pollution and damage to the environment to a certain extent and play a role in environmental protection. For example, in the treatment of wastewater, Fenton reagent is often used in sewage treatment, which is to add Fe2SO4 and H2O2, a mixed solution of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and divalent iron ion Fe^2+. Fenton oxidation method deeply degrades HMX production wastewater, with HMX and chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal rate as the goal, and has unique advantages in treating difficult-to-degrade organic pollutants; automobile exhaust contains harmful gases such as CO and NO. The exhaust treatment device purifies the exhaust under the action of a catalyst, thereby reducing the harm of automobile exhaust to the environment.
Organic Chemistry in the Field of Medicine
Organic chemistry is a discipline that studies the structure, properties, and organic synthesis of organic compounds. Organic chemistry in the field of medicine is the key content of the application of organic chemistry in life. At present, with the rapid development of organic chemistry and medicine, organic chemistry has been applied to the field of drug research.
For example, polymer drugs can release drugs slowly and effectively over a long period of time, and have the characteristics of high efficiency, low toxicity, targeting, and sustained release, making doctors more handy in treating diseases and saving lives.
It is worth mentioning that malaria is one of the most serious infectious diseases in the world, along with tuberculosis and AIDS. Artemisinin (C15H22O5) has a good antimalarial effect, especially for cerebral malaria and chloroquine-resistant malaria. Tu Youyou modified the chemical structure of artemisinin and added different groups to the carbon-oxygen double bond of artemisinin. With the research results of artemisinin (C15H22O5), she artificially synthesized derivatives such as dihydroartemisinin, artemether, and artesunate, and won the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
Organic Chemistry in Materials
Organic polymer materials are indispensable in our lives, and the application of organic chemistry in life is also reflected in the field of materials. Plastics, rubber, fibers, films, adhesives and coatings are all applications of organic chemistry in the field of materials. The technology is relatively mature and the application is relatively wide. Among them, plastics, synthetic fibers and synthetic rubber are called the three major modern polymer synthetic materials.
Specifically, plastics are polymer compounds formed by artificial synthesis through chemical means using monomers as raw materials and polymerization through addition or condensation reactions. Plastic products are everywhere in our daily lives. Commonly used plastics include polyethylene ((C2H4)n), polypropylene ((C3H6)n), polyvinyl chloride ((CH2-CHCL)n), and polystyrene ((C8H8)n); rubber is a highly elastic polymer material with reversible deformation.
Synthetic rubber is obtained by polymerization of various monomers and is widely used in the manufacture of tires, hoses, tapes, cables, etc. Synthetic fibers are fibers made through chemical processing. Petroleum, coal, natural gas, limestone or agricultural byproducts are first synthesized into units, and then organic substances are extracted from synthetic polymers, such as polyester fibers (polyester), polyamide fibers (nylon or nylon), and polyacrylonitrile fibers (acrylic fibers). Films are two-dimensional materials formed by the deposition of atoms, molecules or ions on the surface of a substrate. From the classification of films, there are polyethylene (C2H4) films, polypropylene ((C3H6)n) films, polyvinyl chloride ((CH2-CHCL)n) films and polyester films.
Conclusion
Chemistry is everywhere in our lives. We can see the shadow of chemistry everywhere in our daily lives. For example, clothes made of different materials are synthesized by different chemical methods, and various condiments used in cooking contain chemical ingredients. Therefore, the importance of chemistry in our daily lives is not only reflected in the convenience of life, but also closely related to our lives all the time.
the importance of organic chemistry has become increasingly prominent, and the cross-penetration of organic chemistry with other disciplines has also increased, which is directly related to people’s clothing, food, housing, and transportation. The things around us are composed of many chemical elements.
