Firstly, let us understand what Isomerism is. Chemical compounds are known to have similar chemical formulae, but they differ greatly in the arrangement of atoms for the compound as well as the arrangement of atoms. This phenomenon is called isomerism, and the compounds which express this property are called Isomers. Types of isomerism are Structural Isomerism, Stereoisomerism and Conformational Isomerism. Enroll now at Tutoroot for best one on one tuitions.
1. What are the Types of Isomerism?
Firstly, let us understand what Isomerism is. Chemical compounds are known to
havesimilar chemical formulae,butthey differgreatly in the arrangementof atoms
for the compound as well as the arrangementof atoms. This phenomenon is called
isomerism, and the compounds which express this property are called Isomers.
Types of Isomerism
Now that you have a basic idea of what Isomerismis? And What Isomers are? Let
us now talk about the different types of isomerismthat are commonly found such
as,
Structural Isomerism
Structural Isomerism is also called Constitutional Isomerism, mainly because
atoms observed in the molecule, and functional groups, are usually linked
differently fromone another. Although differenttypes of structuralisomers are
designated IUPACnames, whether they are from the same functional group or
not, will depend on the type of isomers. Besides, this, there are multiple types
of structuralisomerism, which wewillexplain briefly here in the below section.
Chain Isomerism
The isomers whose components have different branched structures, which is
why they are also called Skeletal Isomers. Given below are some common
examples of Chain Isomerism.
PositionIsomerism
As the name itself suggests, the compounds where this type of isomerism is
found, usually have different substituent atoms that are placed in different
positions.
Functional Isomerism
Thesecompoundsgenerally havethe samechemical formula,but the functional
groups in each compound differ from one another.
2. Ring Chain Isomerism
This is a unique isomerism where two isomers have different structures, one
open-chained and one ring structure. Which in turn causes the number of pi
bonds in these compounds to be different.
Metamerism
Ifthe compoundconsistsof differentalkylchainson either side of the functional
group, then this phenomenon is called Metamerism.
Tautomerism
Another uniqueisomerismis wherethe compoundsonly havedifferencesin the
positions of either protons or electrons. Another unique feature of these
isomers is that they easily exist together in equilibrium, which is they can easily
interchange.
StereoIsomerism
The compounds have the same chemical formula but they have different
orientations, as they are generally observed in molecules existing in three-
dimensional space. And as you can guess, the compounds where the
phenomenon is observed, are referred to as Stereo Isomers, which are further
differentiated into two types,
Geometric Isomerism
The isomers that observe the spatial arrangement of atoms in 3d space are
generally called geometric isomers, and this phenomenon is referred to as cis-
trans or geometric isomerism.
Optical Isomerism
The compounds havesimilar bonds; however, thespatialarrangementof atoms
is not the same, which in turn results in non-superimposable mirror images.
Ionization Isomerism
Similar to the other isomers explained above, these isomers also show similar
composition, however, the compound in this isomer, produces different ions,
while being in a solution.
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