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Structure Property Relationships

Submitted by bthoole on Wed, 09/19/2018 - 21:54

One of the key aspects of chemistry and in turn the fields that employ chemistry, such as biology, environmental science and medicine, is the idea behind the structure of a compound giving that compound its properties. The structure of a molecule can be done in multiple ways. It can describe the molecular formula, the relative sizes of atoms in the molecule and their shapes, any functional groups that molecule may have, or the spatial relations between the atoms such as chirality. All these characteristics of structure can then relate to the molecules properties. These properties can be chemical, physical or bilogical.

Chemical properties explains steric effects, polar effects and electrostatic effects. These properties deal with reaction rates and position of equilibrium. Chemical properties involve the interaction of the molecule with another. Physical properties involve just the molecule at hand. These properties include the boiling and melting points and solubility. Biological properties are a subset of chemical properties, but they involve interacting with a biological chemical such as an enzyme. Since different molecule have different structures, they fit in biological receptors differently and cause different neural responses. These properties include color, odor, taste, and toxicity.

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