transferability (chemistry)

{{short description|Assumption that a chemical property will only vary slightly under different circumstances}}

{{about|transferability in chemistry|the concept in economic theory|Transferability (economics)}}

In chemistry, transferability is the assumption that a chemical property that is associated with an atom or a functional group in a molecule will have a similar (but not identical) value in a variety of different circumstances."[http://goldbook.iupac.org/T06441.html Transferability]". Compendium of Chemical Terminology. Examples of transferable properties include:

• Electronegativity
• Nucleophilicity
• Chemical shifts in NMR spectroscopy
• Characteristic frequencies in Infrared spectroscopy
• Bond length and bond angle
• Bond energy

Transferable properties are distinguished from conserved properties, which are assumed to always have the same value whatever the chemical situation, e.g. standard atomic weight.