Cyclic compound

In organic chemistry, a cyclic compound is a compound in which a series of carbon atoms are connected to form a loop or ring ^[1] . Benzene is a well known example.

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The term "polycyclic" is used when more than one ring is formed in a single molecule for instance in naphtalene, and the term macrocycle is used for a ring containing more than a dozen atoms.

Cyclic compounds can be categorized:

• Alicyclic compound
  • Cycloalkane
  • Cycloalkene
• Aromatic hydrocarbon
  • Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon
• Heterocyclic compound
• Macrocycle

Ring-closing & opening reactions

Related concepts in organic chemistry are so-called ring-closing reactions in which a cyclic compound is formed and ring-opening reactions in which rings are opened.

Examples of ring-closing reactions:

• Ring-closing metathesis
• Nazarov cyclization reaction
• Ruzicka large ring synthesis
• Dieckmann condensation
• Wenker synthesis

Example of ring-opening reactions:

• A general type of polymerization reaction: Ring-opening polymerization
• Ring opening metathesis polymerisation

References