chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

, mesoionic compounds are one in which a

heterocyclic A heterocyclic compound or ring structure is a cyclic compound that has atoms of at least two different elements as members of its ring(s). Heterocyclic organic chemistry is the branch of organic chemistry dealing with the synthesis, proper ...

structure is

dipolar In physics, a dipole () is an electromagnetic phenomenon which occurs in two ways: * An electric dipole deals with the separation of the positive and negative electric charges found in any electromagnetic system. A simple example of this system ...

and where both the negative and the positive

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * '' Charge!!'', an album by The Aqu ...

s are

delocalized In chemistry, delocalized electrons are electrons in a molecule, ion or solid metal that are not associated with a single atom or a covalent bond.IUPAC Gold Boo''delocalization''/ref> The term delocalization is general and can have slightly dif ...

. A completely uncharged structure cannot be written and mesoionic compounds cannot be represented satisfactorily by any one

mesomer In chemistry, resonance, also called mesomerism, is a way of describing bonding in certain molecules or polyatomic ions by the combination of several contributing structures (or ''forms'', also variously known as ''resonance structures'' or '' ...

ic structure. Mesoionic compounds are a subclass of

betaines A betaine () in chemistry is any neutral chemical compound with a positively charged cationic functional group that bears no hydrogen atom, such as a quaternary ammonium or phosphonium cation (generally: onium ions), and with a negatively charg ...

. Examples are

sydnone Sydnones are mesoionic heterocyclic chemical compounds possessing a C5-oxygenated 1,2,3-oxadiazole core, named after the city of Sydney, Australia. Like other mesoionic compounds they are dipolar, possessing both positive and negative charges wh ...

s and sydnone imines (e.g. the

stimulant Stimulants (also known as central nervous system stimulants, or psychostimulants, or colloquially as uppers) are a class of drugs that increase alertness. They are used for various purposes, such as enhancing attention, motivation, cognition, ...

mesocarb Mesocarb, sold under the brand name Sidnocarb or Sydnocarb and known by the developmental code name MLR-1017, is a psychostimulant medication which has been used in the treatment of psychiatric disorders and for a number of other indications in ...

münchnone Münchnone (synonyms: 1,3-oxazolium-5-oxide; 1,3-oxazolium-5-olate; anhydro-5-hydroxy-1,3-oxazolium hydroxide; 5-hydroxy-1,3-oxazolium hydroxide, inner salt; oxido-oxazolium) is a mesoionic heterocyclic compound, heterocyclic aromatic chemical com ...

s, and mesoionic carbenes. The formal positive charge is associated with the ring atoms and the formal negative charge is associated either with ring atoms or an

exocyclic In organic chemistry, an alicyclic compound contains one or more all-carbon rings which may be either saturated or unsaturated, but do not have aromatic character. Alicyclic compounds may have one or more aliphatic side chains attached. Cyc ...

nitrogen Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a Nonmetal (chemistry), nonmetal and the lightest member of pnictogen, group 15 of the periodic table, often called the Pnictogen, pnictogens. ...

or other atom. These compounds are stable

zwitterion In chemistry, a zwitterion ( ; ), also called an inner salt or dipolar ion, is a molecule that contains an equal number of positively and negatively charged functional groups. : (1,2- dipolar compounds, such as ylides, are sometimes excluded from ...

ic compounds and belong to nonbenzenoid

aromatic In organic chemistry, aromaticity is a chemical property describing the way in which a conjugated system, conjugated ring of unsaturated bonds, lone pairs, or empty orbitals exhibits a stabilization stronger than would be expected from conjugati ...

See also

References

Further reading