Molecule

A molecule is an electrically neutral group of two or more atoms held together by

chemical bonds.[4][5][6][7][8] Molecules are distinguished from ions by their lack of
electrical charge. However, in quantum physics, organic chemistry, and
biochemistry, the term molecule is often used less strictly, also being applied to
polyatomic ions.

In the kinetic theory of gases, the term molecule is often used for any gaseous
particle regardless of its composition. According to this definition, noble gas atoms
[9]
are considered molecules as they are monatomic molecules.

A molecule may be homonuclear, that is, it consists of atoms of one chemical

element, as with oxygen (O2); or it may be heteronuclear, a chemical compound
composed of more than one element, as with water (H2O). Atoms and complexes Atomic force microscopy(AFM)
image of a PTCDA molecule, in
connected by non-covalent interactions, such as hydrogen bonds or ionic bonds, are
which the five six-carbon rings are
generally not considered single molecules.[10]
visible.[1]
Molecules as components of matter are common in organic substances (and
therefore biochemistry). They also make up most of the oceans and atmosphere.
However, the majority of familiar solid substances on Earth, including most of the
minerals that make up the crust, mantle, and core of the Earth, contain many
chemical bonds, but are not made of identifiable molecules. Also, no typical
molecule can be defined for ionic crystals (salts) and covalent crystals (network
solids), although these are often composed of repeating unit cells that extend either
in a plane (such as in graphene) or three-dimensionally (such as in diamond, quartz,
or sodium chloride). The theme of repeated unit-cellular-structure also holds for
most condensed phases with metallic bonding, which means that solid metals are
also not made of molecules. In glasses (solids that exist in a vitreous disordered
state), atoms may also be held together by chemical bonds with no presence of any
definable molecule, nor any of the regularity of repeating units that characterizes
A scanning tunneling microscopy
crystals. image of pentacene molecules,
which consist of linear chains of five
carbon rings.[2]

Contents
Molecular science
History and etymology
Bonding
Covalent
Ionic
Molecular size AFM image of 1,5,9-trioxo-13-
azatriangulene and its chemical
Molecular formulas
Chemical formula types structure.[3]
Structural formula
Molecular geometry
Molecular spectroscopy
 Theoretical aspects
See also
References
External links

Molecular science
The science of molecules is called molecular chemistry or molecular physics, depending on whether the focus is on chemistry or
physics. Molecular chemistry deals with the laws governing the interaction between molecules that results in the formation and
breakage of chemical bonds, while molecular physics deals with the laws governing their structure and properties. In practice,
however, this distinction is vague. In molecular sciences, a molecule consists of a stable system (bound state) composed of two or
more atoms. Polyatomic ions may sometimes be usefully thought of as electrically charged molecules. The term unstable molecule is
used for very reactive species, i.e., short-lived assemblies (resonances) of electrons and nuclei, such as radicals, molecular ions,
Rydberg molecules, transition states, van der Waals complexes, or systems of colliding atoms as inBose–Einstein condensate.

History and etymology

According to Merriam-Webster and the Online Etymology Dictionary, the word "molecule" derives from the Latin "moles" or small
unit of mass.

Molecule (1794) – "extremely minute particle", from Frenchmolécule (1678), from New Latin molecula, diminutive of
Latin moles "mass, barrier". A vague meaning at first; the vogue for the word (used until the late 18th century only in
Latin form) can be traced to the philosophy ofDescartes.[11][12]
The definition of the molecule has evolved as knowledge of the structure of molecules has increased. Earlier definitions were less
precise, defining molecules as the smallest particles of pure chemical substances that still retain their composition and chemical
properties.[13] This definition often breaks down since many substances in ordinary experience, such as rocks, salts, and metals, are
composed of large crystalline networks ofchemically bonded atoms or ions, but are not made of discrete molecules.

Bonding
Molecules are held together by eithercovalent bonding or ionic bonding. Several types of non-metal elements exist only as molecules
in the environment. For example, hydrogen only exists as hydrogen molecule. A molecule of a compound is made out of two or more
elements.[14]

Covalent
A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electron pairs
between atoms. These electron pairs are termed shared pairs or bonding pairs, and
the stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms, when they share
electrons, is termed covalent bonding.[15]

A covalent bond forming H2 (right)

where two hydrogen atoms share the
two electrons

Ionic

Sodium and fluorine undergoing a
redox reaction to formsodium
fluoride. Sodium loses its outer
electron to give it a stable electron
configuration, and this electron
enters the fluorine atom
exothermically.
Ionic bonding is a type of chemical bond that involves the electrostatic attraction
between oppositely charged ions, and is the primary interaction occurring in ionic
compounds. The ions are atoms that have lost one or moreelectrons (termed cations)
and atoms that have gained one or more electrons (termed anions).[16] This transfer
of electrons is termed electrovalence in contrast to covalence. In the simplest case,
the cation is a metal atom and the anion is a nonmetal atom, but these ions can be of
a more complicated nature, e.g. molecular ions like NH4+ or SO42−. Basically, an
ionic bond is the transfer of electrons from a metal to a non-metal for both atoms to
obtain a full valence shell.

Molecular size
Most molecules are far too small to be seen with the naked eye, but there are exceptions. DNA, a macromolecule, can reach
macroscopic sizes, as can molecules of many polymers. Molecules commonly used as building blocks for organic synthesis have a
dimension of a few angstroms (Å) to several dozen Å, or around one billionth of a meter. Single molecules cannot usually be
observed by light (as noted above), but small molecules and even the outlines of individual atoms may be traced in some
circumstances by use of anatomic force microscope. Some of the largest molecules are macromolecules or supermolecules.

The smallest molecule is thediatomic hydrogen (H2), with a bond length of 0.74 Å.[17]

Effective molecular radius is the size a molecule displays in solution.[18][19] The table of permselectivity for different substances
contains examples.

Molecular formulas

Chemical formula types

The chemical formula for a molecule uses one line of chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such
as parentheses, dashes, brackets, and plus (+) and minus (−) signs. These are limited to one typographic line of symbols, which may
include subscripts and superscripts.

A compound's empirical formula is a very simple type of chemical formula.[20] It is the simplest integer ratio of the chemical
elements that constitute it.[21] For example, water is always composed of a 2:1 ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms, and ethyl alcohol
or ethanol is always composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 2:6:1 ratio. However, this does not determine the kind of
molecule uniquely – dimethyl ether has the same ratios as ethanol, for instance. Molecules with the same atoms in different
arrangements are called isomers. Also carbohydrates, for example, have the same ratio (carbon:hydrogen:oxygen= 1:2:1) (and thus
the same empirical formula) but different total numbers of atoms in the molecule.

The molecular formula reflects the exact number of atoms that compose the molecule and so characterizes different molecules.
However different isomers can have the same atomic composition while being different molecules.

The empirical formula is often the same as the molecular formula but not always. For example, the molecule acetylene has molecular
formula C2H2, but the simplest integer ratio of elements is CH.

The molecular mass can be calculated from the chemical formula and is expressed in conventional atomic mass units equal to 1/12 of
the mass of a neutral carbon-12 (12C isotope) atom. For network solids, the term formula unit is used in stoichiometric calculations.
Structural formula
For molecules with a complicated 3-dimensional
structure, especially involving atoms bonded to
four different substituents, a simple molecular
formula or even semi-structural chemical formula
may not be enough to completely specify the
molecule. In this case, a graphical type of formula
called a structural formula may be needed. 3D (left and center) and 2D (right) representations of theterpenoid
Structural formulas may in turn be represented molecule atisane
with a one-dimensional chemical name, but such
chemical nomenclature requires many words and
terms which are not part of chemical formulas.

Molecular geometry
Molecules have fixed equilibrium geometries—bond lengths and angles— about which they
continuously oscillate through vibrational and rotational motions. A pure substance is
composed of molecules with the same average geometrical structure. The chemical formula
and the structure of a molecule are the two important factors that determine its properties,
particularly its reactivity. Isomers share a chemical formula but normally have very different
properties because of their different structures. Stereoisomers, a particular type of isomer, may
have very similar physico-chemical properties and at the same time different biochemical
activities.

Molecular spectroscopy
Molecular spectroscopy deals
with the response (spectrum) of
molecules interacting with
probing signals of known
energy (or frequency, according
to Planck's formula). Molecules
Structure and STM image of
have quantized energy levels
a "cyanostar" dendrimer
that can be analyzed by
molecule.[22]
detecting the molecule's energy
exchange through absorbance
or emission.[24] Spectroscopy does not generally refer to diffraction
Hydrogen can be removed from individualH2TPP
studies where particles such as neutrons, electrons, or high energy X-
molecules by applying excess voltage to the tip of
rays interact with a regular arrangement of molecules (as in a crystal).
a scanning tunneling microscope(STM, a); this
removal alters the current-voltage (I-V) curves of
Microwave spectroscopy commonly measures changes in the rotation
TPP molecules, measured using the same STM
of molecules, and can be used to identify molecules in outer space.
tip, from diode like (red curve in b) toresistor like
Infrared spectroscopy measures changes in vibration of molecules, (green curve). Image (c) shows a row of TPP ,
including stretching, bending or twisting motions. It is commonly used H2TPP and TPP molecules. While scanning
to identify the kinds of bonds or functional groups in molecules. image (d), excess voltage was applied to H2TPP
Changes in the arrangements of electrons yield absorption or emission at the black dot, which instantly removed
hydrogen, as shown in the bottom part of (d) and
lines in ultraviolet, visible or near infrared light, and result in colour.
in the rescan image (e). Such manipulations can
be used in single-molecule electronics.[23]
Nuclear resonance spectroscopy actually measures the environment of particular nuclei in the molecule, and can be used to
characterise the numbers of atoms in different positions in a molecule.

Theoretical aspects
The study of molecules bymolecular physics and theoretical chemistry is largely based on quantum mechanics and is essential for the
understanding of the chemical bond. The simplest of molecules is the hydrogen molecule-ion, H2+, and the simplest of all the
chemical bonds is the one-electron bond. H2+ is composed of two positively charged protons and one negatively charged electron,
which means that the Schrödinger equation for the system can be solved more easily due to the lack of electron–electron repulsion.
With the development of fast digital computers, approximate solutions for more complicated molecules became possible and are one
of the main aspects ofcomputational chemistry.

When trying to define rigorously whether an arrangement of atoms is sufficiently stable to be considered a molecule, IUPAC suggests
that it "must correspond to a depression on the potential energy surface that is deep enough to confine at least one vibrational
state".[4] This definition does not depend on the nature of the interaction between the atoms, but only on the strength of the
interaction. In fact, it includes weakly bound species that would not traditionally be considered molecules, such as the helium dimer,
He2, which has one vibrationalbound state[25] and is so loosely bound that it is only likely to be observed at very low temperatures.

Whether or not an arrangement of atoms is sufficiently stable to be considered a molecule is inherently an operational definition.
Philosophically, therefore, a molecule is not a fundamental entity (in contrast, for instance, to an elementary particle); rather, the
concept of a molecule is the chemist's way of making a useful statement about the strengths of atomic-scale interactions in the world
that we observe.

See also
Atom
Chemical polarity
Covalent bond
Diatomic molecule
List of compounds
List of interstellar and circumstellar molecules
Molecular biology
Molecular design software
Molecular engineering
Molecular geometry
Molecular Hamiltonian
Molecular ion
Molecular modelling
Molecular orbital
Non-covalent bonding
Periodic systems of small molecules
Small molecule
Comparison of software for molecular mechanics modeling
Van der Waals molecule
World Wide Molecular Matrix

References
1. Iwata, Kota; Yamazaki, Shiro; Mutombo, Pingo; Hapala, Prokop; Ondráček, Martin; Jelínek, Pavel; Sugimoto,
Yoshiaki (2015). "Chemical structure imaging of a single molecule by atomic force microscopy at room temperature"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4518281). Nature Communications. 6: 7766.
Bibcode:2015NatCo...6E7766I (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015NatCo...6E7766I) . doi:10.1038/ncomms8766 (htt
 ps://doi.org/10.1038%2Fncomms8766). PMC 4518281 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4518281).
PMID 26178193 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26178193).
2. Dinca, L. E.; De Marchi, F.; MacLeod, J. M.; Lipton-Duffin, J.; Gatti, R.; Ma, D.; Perepichka, D. F
.; Rosei, F. (2015).
"Pentacene on Ni(111): Room-temperature molecular packing and temperature-activated conversion to graphene".
Nanoscale. 7 (7): 3263–9. Bibcode:2015Nanos...7.3263D (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2015Nanos...7.3263D) .
doi:10.1039/C4NR07057G(https://doi.org/10.1039%2FC4NR07057G). PMID 25619890 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pubmed/25619890).
3. Hapala, Prokop; Švec, Martin; Stetsovych, Oleksandr; a
Vn Der Heijden, Nadine J.; Ondráček, Martin; V an Der Lit,
Joost; Mutombo, Pingo; Swart, Ingmar; Jelínek, Pavel (2016)."Mapping the electrostatic force field of single
molecules from high-resolution scanning probe images"(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4894979).
Nature Communications. 7: 11560. Bibcode:2016NatCo...711560H (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2016NatCo...711
560H). doi:10.1038/ncomms11560(https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fncomms11560). PMC 4894979 (https://www.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4894979). PMID 27230940 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27230940).
4. IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–)
"Molecule (http://goldbook.iupac.org/M04002.html)".
5. Ebbin, Darrell D. (1990).General Chemistry (3rd ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. ISBN 0-395-43302-9.
6. Brown, T.L.; Kenneth C. Kemp; Theodore L. Brown; Harold Eugene LeMay; Bruce Edward Bursten (2003).
Chemistry – the Central Science(9th ed.). New Jersey:Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-066997-0.
7. Chang, Raymond (1998).Chemistry (6th ed.). New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0-07-115221-0.
8. Zumdahl, Steven S. (1997).Chemistry (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-669-41794-7.
9. Chandra, Sulekh (2005).Comprehensive Inorganic Chemistry. New Age Publishers.ISBN 81-224-1512-1.
10. "Molecule" (http://global.britannica.com/science/molecule)
. Encyclopædia Britannica. 22 January 2016. Retrieved
23 February 2016.
11. Harper, Douglas. "molecule" (http://www.etymonline.com/?term=molecule). Online Etymology Dictionary. Retrieved
2016-02-22.
12. "molecule" (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/molecule). Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 22 February 2016.
13. Molecule Definition (http://antoine.frostburg.edu/chem/senese/101/glossary/m.shtml#molecule)
(Frostburg State
University)
14. "The Hutchinson unabridged encyclopedia with atlas and weather guide"
(http://www.worldcat.org/title/hutchinson-un
abridged-encyclopedia-with-atlas-and-weather-guide/oclc/696918830)
. worldcat.org. Oxford, England. Retrieved
28 February 2016.
15. Campbell, Neil A.; Brad Williamson; Robin J. Heyden (2006).Biology: Exploring Life (http://www.phschool.com/el_m
arketing.html). Boston, Massachusetts:Pearson Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-250882-6. Retrieved 2012-02-05.
16. Campbell, Flake C. (2008-01-01).Elements of Metallurgy and Engineering Alloys(https://books.google.com/books?i
d=6VdROgeQ5M8C&pg=PA7&dq=ionic+bonding+-wikipedia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi34bOG_6nT AhVnl1QKH
RLZBeoQ6AEILTAC#v=onepage&q=ionic%20bonding%20-wikipedia&f=false) . ASM International.
ISBN 9781615030583.
17. Roger L. DeKock; Harry B. Gray; Harry B. Gray (1989).Chemical structure and bonding(https://books.google.com/?i
d=q77rPHP5fWMC&pg=PA199). University Science Books. p. 199.ISBN 0-935702-61-X.
18. Chang RL; Deen WM; Robertson CR; Brenner BM (1975). "Permselectivity of the glomerular capillary wall: III.
Restricted transport of polyanions".Kidney Int. 8 (4): 212–218. doi:10.1038/ki.1975.104 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2F
ki.1975.104). PMID 1202253 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1202253).
19. Chang RL; Ueki IF; Troy JL; Deen WM; Robertson CR; Brenner BM (1975)."Permselectivity of the glomerular
capillary wall to macromolecules. II. Experimental studies in rats using neutral dextran"
(https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pmc/articles/PMC1334749). Biophys. J. 15 (9): 887–906. Bibcode:1975BpJ....15..887C (http://adsabs.harvard.edu/
abs/1975BpJ....15..887C). doi:10.1016/S0006-3495(75)85863-2(https://doi.org/10.1016%2FS0006-3495%2875%29
85863-2). PMC 1334749 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1334749). PMID 1182263 (https://www.ncb
i.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1182263).
20. Wink, Donald J.; Fetzer-Gislason, Sharon; McNicholas, Sheila (2003-03-01).
The Practice of Chemistry(https://book
s.google.com/books?id=6wUmteTIc18C&pg=P A288&dq=empirical+formula&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiv64bBh6r
TAhUSwmMKHb3vB0IQ6AEIOjAF#v=onepage&q=empirical%20formula&f=false) . Macmillan.
ISBN 9780716748717.
21. "ChemTeam: Empirical Formula"(http://www.chemteam.info/Mole/EmpiricalFormula.html). www.chemteam.info.
Retrieved 2017-04-16.
22. Hirsch, Brandon E.; Lee, Semin; Qiao, Bo; Chen, Chun-Hsing; McDonald, Kevin.;PTait, Steven L.; Flood, Amar H.
(2014). "Anion-induced dimerization of 5-fold symmetric cyanostars in 3D crystalline solids and 2D self-assembled
crystals" (https://zenodo.org/record/889879/files/article.pdf)(PDF). Chemical Communications. 50 (69): 9827–30.
doi:10.1039/C4CC03725A(https://doi.org/10.1039%2FC4CC03725A). PMID 25080328 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.go
v/pubmed/25080328).
23. Zoldan, V. C.; Faccio, R; Pasa, A. A. (2015)."N and p type character of single molecule diodes"(https://www.ncbi.nl
m.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4322354). Scientific Reports. 5: 8350. Bibcode:2015NatSR...5E8350Z(http://adsabs.har
vard.edu/abs/2015NatSR...5E8350Z). doi:10.1038/srep08350 (https://doi.org/10.1038%2Fsrep08350).
PMC 4322354 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4322354). PMID 25666850 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/pubmed/25666850).
24. IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–)
"Spectroscopy (http://goldbook.iupac.org/S05848.html)".
25. Anderson JB (May 2004). "Comment on "An exact quantum Monte Carlo calculation of the helium-helium
intermolecular potential" [J. Chem. Phys. 115, 4546 (2001)]".J Chem Phys. 120 (20): 9886–7.
Bibcode:2004JChPh.120.9886A(http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2004JChPh.120.9886A) . doi:10.1063/1.1704638 (htt
ps://doi.org/10.1063%2F1.1704638). PMID 15268005 (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15268005).

External links
Molecule of the Month – School of Chemistry
, University of Bristol

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Molecule&oldid=864196519

"

This page was last edited on 15 October 2018, at 18:32(UTC).

Text is available under theCreative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this
site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of theWikimedia
Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.