• Khdir Ahmed Othman
  • Rebaz Anwar Omer
  • Abdalla Ali Amin Mohammad
  • Damir Safin
Functional group analysis is an essential part of the curriculum for identifying unknown organic compounds. However, traditional methods of analyzing functional groups use excess reagents and generate a large amount of waste material that is difficult to dispose of. This work is focused on alternative methods for detecting functional groups such as carboxylic acid, ester, alkene, alcohol, aldehyde, ketone, phenol, anhydride, amine, carbohydrate, and amino acid. The experiments use the most common 44 organic compounds and apply 17 chemical tests with little modification and considerably less volume (few drops) of conventional reagents on a grooved tile. In addition, this work provides some tests that can give different positive results for different functional groups (i.e., the sodium nitroprusside test can be used for the detection of ketones and amines with different results, and the ceric ammonium nitrate test can be used for the detection of alcohols, phenols, and carbohydrates). The procedures adopted are in accordance with the principles of green chemistry: consumption of fewer solvents and minimizing waste and time. Therefore, these experiments provide an efficient, safe and economical approach for functional group investigation. The success of the tests is valid for general organic compounds.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)567-577
Number of pages11
JournalJournal of Chemical Education
Volume101
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 13 Feb 2024

    WoS ResearchAreas Categories

  • Chemistry, Multidisciplinary
  • Education, Scientific Disciplines

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Education
  • General Chemistry

ID: 53745957