Chemistry Branches

When you picture a chemist, what do you see? Most people would picture someone wearing a lab coat and safety goggles swirling around a flask full of bright liquid, with some other liquid bubbling away on a hot plate. While that may be an accurate picture for some of us (though the liquids are usually clear or a pale yellow, which is less fun), it doesn't really encapsulate what chemistry is all about.

In this article, we will be covering the different chemistry branches to understand how varied and interesting chemistry can truly be.

• This article covers the different chemistry branches.
• First, we will walk through the definitions of the five major chemistry branches: analytical, biological, organic, inorganic, and physical.
• Next, we will talk about the founders of each discipline.
• Then, we will talk about some of the real-life examples of each branch.
• Lastly, we will talk about how chemistry relates to other sciences.

Understanding Chemistry

While it wasn't called that back then, the foundations of chemistry stretch all the way back to 1,000 B.C, but our modern idea of chemistry only began around the 1600s. It's important to remember that chemistry is a vast field with many branches. However, all of these fields have one thing in common: They focus on elements and Chemical Reactions.

Chemistry, at its core, is defined as the branch of science that studies the properties and behavior of matter. Chemistry branches off based on the type of matter and the behavior of matter. So, let's dive in, shall we?

5 major branches of chemistry and their definitions

There are 5 major branches of chemistry, these are:

1. Analytical Chemistry

2. Biological/Biochemistry

3. Organic Chemistry

4. Inorganic Chemistry

5. Physical Chemistry

While these branches represent their own different areas, they aren't isolated from each other. For example, to understand biological chemistry, you need to also understand Organic Chemistry, the chemistry of carbon-based compounds since many biological processes are organic.

In addition, there are smaller sub-branches that borrow from several categories. As an example, environmental chemistry is within the domain of all the main branches.

Analytical chemistry

First, let's talk about Analytical Chemistry.

Analytical chemistry is all about measurements. Most of an analytical chemist's day is spent placing samples in different instrumentation for analysis (though it is actually much more complicated).

For example, below is one of these instruments: a Gas Chromatography system.

Fig.1-A sophisticated Gas Chromatography system

Analytical chemists then interpret this analysis and use several calculations to make sure their analysis is as accurate and precise as possible.

Analytical chemistry, as the name suggests, is usually used in analysis contexts, such as:

• Forensic science

• Bioanalysis

• Environmental analysis

• Materials analysis

Biological/Biochemistry

The second branch of chemistry is biochemistry.

It is basically a marriage of biology and chemistry.

Biochemistry focuses on exploring chemical processes at the biomolecular level. This includes studying components like cells, organelles, and proteins. It focuses on understanding the chemical reasoning for why biological molecules (such as DNA) function the way they do.

Biochemistry has a wide variety of applications, such as:

-Medicine

-Nutrition

-Agriculture

Organic Chemistry

Next, we have organic chemistry.

Organic Compounds are the basis of all life on earth, so studying them is very important! Organic chemists spend most of their time either developing new compounds or finding new and creative ways to synthesize old ones.

For example, below are some Organic Compounds that are responsible for different scents:

Fig.2-Different organic compounds that are odors

Some common applications of this field are:

• Pharmaceuticals
• Cosmetics
• Agriculture
• Biofuels

Organic chemistry can often overlap with biochemistry due to the importance of organic compounds in biological systems.

Inorganic chemistry

Now, let's look at Inorganic Chemistry.

This branch of chemistry focuses on minerals, metals, and organometallic compounds. Inorganic chemistry is basically all the compounds not covered by organic chemistry. However, there is some overlap since organometallic compounds are those that contain a metal or metalloid bonded to a Carbon.

Inorganic chemists focus on understanding the behaviors of these compounds and finding how they can be manipulated and/or used.

Inorganic chemistry is applicable to a wide variety of fields, such as: -Mining -Agriculture -Pigments

-Fuels

-Medications

Physical chemistry

Lastly, we have Physical Chemistry.

Physical chemistry is essentially the "baby" of physics and chemistry.

It examines how matter behaves on an atomic/molecular level, as well as how reactions occur. This type of chemistry looks at topics such as reaction rates and heat transfer.

This type of chemistry is more so used for strengthening our understanding of systems rather than applications in industry.

Even so, it still has some applications in:

-Materials science

-Molecular modeling

-Analytical science

Founders of chemistry branches

Branches of chemistry don't normally have founders per se. When we call someone the "Father/Mother of ___," it is because they are a pioneer of the subject or made major contributions to it. Since chemistry itself has existed for millennia, the basic principles of certain branches have existed for long periods of time, but the proper classification/foundation of them didn't happen until much later.

Biological/Biochemistry

Biochemistry as a concept is said to have stretched back all the way to Ancient Greece, but the term itself wasn't coined as an official disciple until 1903 by chemist Carl Neuberg (1877-1956).

Depending on whom you ask, you'll probably get a different name for the "official" founder of the discipline. Below are some of the possible founders, in order of their work:

• Antoine Lavoisier (1743-1794): Studied fermentation and respiration in the 18th century

• Anselme Payen (1795-1871): Discovered the first enzyme in 1833

• Justus von Liebig (1803-1873): Wrote Animal chemistry, or, Organic chemistry in its applications to physiology and pathology in 1842, which presented the theory of metabolism

• Eduard Buchner (1860-1917): Won the Nobel Prize in chemistry in 1907 for demonstrating the biochemical process of alcohol fermentation

Analytical chemistry

One of the first major figures in analytical chemistry was Swedish scientist Torbern Bergman (1735-1784), who introduced the concept of the qualitative system of analysis (i.e., a system of numerical measurements). Robert Bunsen (of Bunsen burner fame) and Gustav Kirchhoff were the first to perform Instrumental Analysis in 1890. However, most of the major developments took place after 1900.

Izaak Maurits Kolthoff (1894-1993) is considered to be the father of modern analytical chemistry. He is responsible for creating the basis for the theoretical principles and experimental techniques we use today. In his time, analytical chemistry was considered more of an art since it lacked core principles and relied on recipes based on experience rather than testing. Kolthoff was able to unify and develop current methods and make them have more of a clear scientific basis.

Organic chemistry

Before the 18th and 19th centuries, it was generally believed that living things had a "vital force" that distinguished them from non-living things. However, in 1828 German chemist Friedrich Wöhler (1800-1882) largely disproved this belief. He was able to synthesize urea (an organic compound found in urine) from inorganic compounds (potassium cyanate and ammonium sulfate).

This was the first (known) time that a biological compound had been produced in a lab without organic starting materials. This event is largely marked as the event that disproved vitalism and brought a new view of organic chemistry to the forefront.

Inorganic chemistry

Like with many other branches of chemistry, the compounds themselves have been known for millennia. However, the scientist who made one of the most significant developments that "kick-started" the field was Alfred Werner (1866-1919).

Werner was a Swiss chemist who proposed the theory of coordination complexes in 1893. Coordination complexes are compounds with a metal atom at its center, with molecules and/or ions bound to it called ligands. Werner won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1913 for his work on the configuration of transition metal complexes. His work is the basis for modern coordination chemistry, which is a major branch of inorganic chemistry.

Physical chemistry

"Physical chemistry" as a term was coined in 1752 by Mikhail Lomonosov (1711-1765). However, modern physical chemistry didn't start to flourish until the 1860s.

One major contributor is Josiah Willard Gibbs (1839-1903). Gibb's published the paper On the Equilibrium of Heterogeneous Substances in 1876, which introduced several cornerstones of the disciple. Such concepts include Gibb's Free Energy, chemical potentials, and Gibb's phase rule.

Branches of chemistry with real-life examples

We talked briefly about certain applications for each branch, but here are some more specific examples to give you a clearer picture of what chemists in these disciplines do.

• Analytical chemistry
  • Analyze concentrations of certain chemicals (like fluoride) in drinking water to make sure they are at safe levels.
• Biochemistry
  • Can detect pregnancy by measuring biochemical markers, such as the pregnancy hormone hCG.
• Organic chemistry
  • Formulate skin products to address skin issues while not harming the skin and/or body.
• Inorganic chemistry
  • Develop methods to remove metals safely from bodies of water like streams.
• Physical chemistry
  • Develop techniques to study and measure biological processes, such as MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).

Relationship between Chemistry and other Branches of Science

Chemistry tends to intermingle with other branches of science. Depending on the branch of chemistry, different principles from other disciplines tend to show up in research and industry, such as:

• Biology

  • Biological and Organic chemistry

• Environmental science

  • Organic and analytical chemistry

• Physics

  • Physical chemistry

• Neuroscience

  • Biological, organic, and analytical chemistry

Science is all about the sharing of information to learn more about our world and solve problems, so it makes sense that chemistry often "talks" to other disciplines.