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18: Summary of Structural Types

  • Page ID
    142913
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    Chemical Structural Types

    Structural Unit Examples
    atoms noble gas elements, metals
    ions ionic solids and liquids, plasmas
    discrete molecules H2O, CH4, sugar
    coordination compounds ferrodoxin, Mn(CO)6
    extended layers or networks diamond, graphite, clays, silica
    polymers protein, carbohydrates, plastics
    supramolecular assembly micelles

    As with most artificial classifications, these distinctions tend to break down in extreme cases: many polymers are composed of molecules of various sizes and shapes.

    • Identify the type of structural unit(s) in the following examples:

      Ex: protein composed of multiple subunits: polymer & supramolecular assembly

      1. peptide

      2. DNA

      3. heme prosthetic in hemoglobin

      4. liposome

      5. metalalloy

      6. cis-platin

      7. vanadium

      8. CaF2

      9. silica gel

      10. zeolite

      11. xenon

      12. steroid


    18: Summary of Structural Types is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by LibreTexts.

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