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In
File:Malonsäure.svg, Malonic acid
File:Acetyloaceton.svg,
In 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 ...
, a methylene bridge is part of a molecule
A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...
with formula . The carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalence, tetravalent—meaning that its atoms are able to form up to four covalent bonds due to its valence shell exhibiting 4 ...
atom is connected by single bond
In chemistry, a single bond is a chemical bond between two atoms involving two valence electrons. That is, the atoms share one pair of electrons where the bond forms. Therefore, a single bond is a type of covalent bond. When shared, each of th ...
s to two other distinct atoms in the rest of the molecule. A methylene bridge is often called a methylene group or simply methylene, as in "methylene chloride" (dichloromethane
Dichloromethane (DCM, methylene chloride, or methylene bichloride) is an organochlorine compound with the formula . This colorless, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like, sweet odor is widely used as a solvent. Although it is not miscible with ...
). As a bridge in other compounds, for example in cyclic compounds, it is given the name methano. However, the term methylidene group (not to be confused with the term methylene group, nor the carbene
In organic chemistry, a carbene is a molecule containing a neutral carbon atom with a Valence (chemistry), valence of two and two unshared valence electrons. The general formula is or where the R represents substituents or hydrogen atoms.
Th ...
methylidene) properly applies to the group when it is connected to the rest of the molecule by a double bond
In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...
(), giving it chemical properties very distinct from those of a bridging group.
Organic chemistry
It is the repeating unit in the skeleton of the unbranchedalkane
In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in whi ...
s. Polyethylene
Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging (plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including bott ...
also can be called polymethylene.
Compounds possessing a methylene bridge located between two electron withdrawing groups (such as nitro
Nitro may refer to:
Chemistry
*Nitrogen, a chemical element and a gas except at very low temperatures, with which many compounds are formed:
**Nitro compound, an organic compound containing one or more nitro functional groups, -NO2
**Nitro ligand ...
, carbonyl
In organic chemistry, a carbonyl group is a functional group with the formula , composed of a carbon atom double bond, double-bonded to an oxygen atom, and it is divalent at the C atom. It is common to several classes of organic compounds (such a ...
or nitrile
In organic chemistry, a nitrile is any organic compound that has a functional group. The name of the compound is composed of a base, which includes the carbon of the , suffixed with "nitrile", so for example is called " propionitrile" (or pr ...
groups) are sometimes called active methylene compounds. Treatment of these with strong bases can form enolates or carbanions, which are often used in organic synthesis
Organic synthesis is a branch of chemical synthesis concerned with the construction of organic compounds. Organic compounds are molecules consisting of combinations of covalently-linked hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms. Within the gen ...
. Examples include the Knoevenagel condensation
In organic chemistry, the Knoevenagel condensation () reaction is a type of chemical reaction named after German chemist Emil Knoevenagel. It is a modification of the aldol condensation.
A Knoevenagel condensation is a nucleophilic addition o ...
and the malonic ester synthesis.
Examples of compounds that contain an activated methylene bridge include:
Acetylacetone
Acetylacetone is an organic compound with the chemical formula . It is classified as a 1,3-diketone. It exists in equilibrium with a tautomer . The mixture is a colorless liquid. These tautomers interconvert so rapidly under most conditions that ...
File:Malononitrile.png, Malononitrile
Malononitrile is an organic compound nitrile with the formula . It is a colorless or white solid, although aged samples appear yellow or even brown. It is a widely used building block in organic synthesis.
Preparation and reactions
It can be pre ...
Inorganic and organometallic chemistry
A methylene bridge can be aligand
In coordination chemistry, a ligand is an ion or molecule with a functional group that binds to a central metal atom to form a coordination complex. The bonding with the metal generally involves formal donation of one or more of the ligand's el ...
joining two metals. Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ti and atomic number 22. Found in nature only as an oxide, it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver color, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in ...
and aluminum
Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...
are linked by a methylene bridge in Tebbe's reagent
Tebbe's reagent is the organometallic compound with the formula (C5H5)2TiCH2ClAl(CH3)2. It is used in the methylidenation of carbonyl compounds, that is it converts organic compounds containing the R2C=O group into the related R2C=CH2 derivative. ...
.W. A. Herrmann (1982), "The methylene bridge". In ''Advances in Organometallic Chemistry'', volume 20, pages 195-197.
Nomenclature
Methylene bridge is sometimes called a methylene spacer or methanediyl group.See also
*Methyl group
In organic chemistry, a methyl group is an alkyl derived from methane, containing one carbon atom bonded to three hydrogen atoms, having chemical formula (whereas normal methane has the formula ). In formulas, the group is often abbreviated a ...
* Methylene group
* Methyne
References
{{Functional group Functional groups