Primary carbon
{{short description|Carbon atom bound to one other carbon in a molecule}}
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! Primary Carbon |
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| Structural formula of propane ({{chem2|C3H8}}; primary carbons are highlighted red) |
In organic chemistry, a primary carbon is a carbon atom which is bound to only one other carbon atom.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Janice Gorzynski |title=Organic chemistry |date=2011 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |location=New York, NY |isbn=978-0-07-337562-5 |page=116 |edition=3rd |url=http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/007340277x/student_view0/index.html |language=en |format=Book |chapter=Chapter 4 Alkanes |access-date=2018-06-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180628152511/http://highered.mheducation.com/sites/007340277x/student_view0/index.html |archive-date=2018-06-28 |url-status=dead }} It is thus at the end of a carbon chain. In case of an alkane, three hydrogen atoms are bound to a primary carbon (see propane in the figure on the right). A hydrogen atom could also be replaced by a hydroxy group ({{chem2|\sOH}}), which would make the molecule a primary alcohol.{{citation|surname1=Hans Peter Latscha, Uli Kazmaier, Helmut Alfons Klein|title=Organische Chemie: Chemie-Basiswissen II|edition=7. Auflage|publisher=Springer Spektrum|publication-place=Berlin|page=40|isbn=978-3-662-46180-8|date=2016|language=German
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| | style="background-color:#AAC1FF" | primary carbon
| style="background-color:#7A91FF" | secondary carbon | style="background-color:#7A91FF" | tertiary carbon | style="background-color:#7A91FF" | quaternary carbon |
| align="center" style="background-color:#CAE1FF; height:80px; width:20%" | General structure (R = Organyl group) | style="background-color:#FFFFFF" | File:Primäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V1.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Sekundäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V1.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Tertiäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V1.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Quartäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V1.svg |
| align="center" style="background-color:#CAE1FF; height:80px; width:20%" | Partial Structural formula | style="background-color:#FFFFFF" | File:Primäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V2.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Sekundäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V2.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Tertiäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V2.svg | style="background-color:#BFBFBF" | File:Quartäres_Kohlenstoffatom_V2.svg |
