Illustrated Glossary of Organic Chemistry
Tetra
valent
:
An atom having four
covalent bonds
.
In this
molecule
the hydrogen atom and chlorine atoms are
monovalent
, the oxygen atom is
divalent
, the nitrogen atom is
trivalent
, and the carbon atom is tetra
valent
.
This
molecule
contains three tetra
valent
carbon atoms. The carbon atom of the
methyl group
has four
single bonds
. The carbon atom of the
carbonyl group
has two
single bonds
and one
double bond
. The carbon atom of the
nitrile group
has one
single bond
and one
triple bond
. A tetra
valent
carbon can also has two
double bonds
, for example, in
carbon dioxide
.
Related terms:
Pentavalent carbon
,
texas carbon
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