Methyl group

In chemistry, a methyl group is a hydrophobic alkyl functional group derived from methane (CH₄). It has the formula -CH₃ and is very often abbreviated as -Me in the structure of a molecule. This hydrocarbon unit can be found in many organic compounds. It is customarily written as H₃C when on the left of a bond; for example, ethane is represented as H₃C-CH₃. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... For other uses, see Chemistry (disambiguation). ... In chemistry, hydrophobic or lipophilic species, or hydrophobes, tend to be electrically neutral and nonpolar, and thus prefer other neutral and nonpolar solvents or molecular environments. ... An alkyl is a univalent radical containing only carbon and hydrogen atoms arranged in a chain. ... In organic chemistry, functional groups (or moieties) are specific groups of atoms within molecules, that are responsible for the characteristic chemical reactions of those molecules. ... Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. ... For other uses, see Carbon (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... A chemical formula is a concise way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound. ... For other uses, see Carbon (disambiguation). ... General Name, Symbol, Number hydrogen, H, 1 Chemical series nonmetals Group, Period, Block 1, 1, s Appearance colorless Atomic mass 1. ... Oil refineries are key to obtaining hydrocarbons; crude oil is processed through several stages to form desirable hydrocarbons, used in fuel and other commercial products. ... Benzene is the simplest of the arenes, a family of organic compounds An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon and hydrogen; therefore, carbides, carbonates, carbon oxides and elementary carbon are not organic (see below for more on the definition controversy... This article is about a chemical compound. ...

Methyl groups can be incorporated in organic compounds by an S_N2 reaction on iodomethane, or by the reaction of methyl lithium or MeMgCl with a carbon atom that is substituted with a leaving group. In chemistry, nucleophilic substitution is a class of substitution reaction in which an electron-rich nucleophile attacks a molecule and replaces a group or atom, called the leaving group. ... Iodomethane, commonly called methyl iodide, is a dense volatile liquid. ... // Methyl lithium Structure Methyl lithium is an s-block orgamnometallic compound. ... A leaving group is an atom or molecule that detaches from an organic molecule, which, after detachment, is called the residual or main part. ...

See also: methylation

Methylation is a term used in the chemical sciences to denote the attachment or substitution of a methyl group on various substrates. ...

Reactivity

The introduction of methyl groups as new substituents in a compound usually increases the lipophilicity of the compound and reduces its water solubility. It should improve the ease of absorption of the analogue into a biological membrane but will make its release from biological membranes into the aqueous media more difficult. The incorporation of a methyl group can have one of three general effects on the rate of metabolism of an analogue: A few of the metabolic pathways in a cell. ...

1. an increased rate of metabolism due to oxidation of the methyl group
2. an increase in the rate of metabolism due to demethylation by the transfer of the methyl group to another compound, or a reduction of the analogue.

Chemically, the reactivity of a methyl group depends partially on what it is attached to. For example, when a methyl group is part of an alkane, it is extremely unreactive and resists all but the strongest of acids, bases, oxidizing agents, and reducing agents. However, in the compound toluene, C₆H₅CH₃, the methyl group is considerably more reactive due to the electron donating abilities of the ring. Electrophilic reagents are then able to attack the methyl group; for example, oxidation with permanganate converts the methyl group to carboxyl (-COOH), which produces benzoic acid. The most fundamental reactions in chemistry are the redox processes. ... Chemical structure of methane, the simplest alkane Alkanes are chemical compounds that consist only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H) (i. ... Toluene, also known as methylbenzene or phenylmethane is a clear, water-insoluble liquid with the typical smell of paint thinners, redolent of the sweet smell of the related compound benzene. ... In chemistry, the phenyl group or phenyl ring (often abbreviated as -Ph) is the functional group with the formula -C6H5 Picture where the six carbon atoms are arranged in a cyclic manner. ... In chemistry, an electrophile (literally electron-lover) is a reagent attracted to electrons that participates in a chemical reaction by accepting an electron pair in order to bond to a nucleophile. ... The structure of the permanganate anion A permanganate is a chemical compound that contains the permanganate ion (MnO4−). Because manganese is in the +7 oxidation state, the permanganate ion is a strong oxidizer. ... Benzoic acid, C7H6O2 (or C6H5COOH), is a colorless crystalline solid and the simplest aromatic carboxylic acid. ...

Methyl radical

The methyl radical is the substance CH₃ on its own, with an unpaired electron. Though it readily dimerizes to ethane, it is stable enough (unlike atomic hydrogen) to be observed as a dilute gas. It can be produced by thermal decomposition of certain compounds, especially those with a -N=N- linkage, which lose the extremely stable dinitrogen molecule on heating. This article is about a chemical compound. ...

See also

• methanol history for the etymology of methyl