In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group composed of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom: C=O. It is common to several classes of organic compounds, as part of many larger functional groups. The term carbonyl can also refer to carbon monoxide as a ligand in an inorganic or organometallic complex (a metal carbonyl, e.g. nickel carbonyl).
The slightly positive carbon atom in the carbonyl group can be attacked by nucleophiles (negatively charged ions, like the cyanide ion) or a negatively charged part of another molecule, like the pair "lone pair" of hydrogen atoms in the ammonia molecule. During the reaction, the carbon-oxygen double bond is broken, and the carbonyl group may experience addition reactions. This reaction is known as addition-elimination (because a water molecule is often lost) or condensation.
Oxygen is more electronegative than carbon, and thus draws electron density away from carbon to increase the bond's polarity. Therefore, the carbonyl carbon becomes electrophilic, and thus more reactive with nucleophiles. Also, the electronegative oxygen can react with an electrophile; for example a proton in an acidic solution or other Lewis acid forming an oxocarbenium ion.
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