Addition Reaction

addition reaction

[ə′di·shən rē′ak·shən]

(organic chemistry)

A type of reaction of unsaturated hydrocarbons with hydrogen, halogens, halogen acids, and other reagents, so that no change in valency is observed and the organic compound forms a more complex one.

McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Addition Reaction

 

one of the main types of chemical reaction in which a single new substance is formed from two or more individual substances, for example, NH₃ + HCl = NH₄Cl. Addition reactions include many reactions involving the recombination of atoms and radicals (H + H = H₂ and CH₃ + C₂H₅ = C₃H₈), reactions involving the addition of halogens to unsaturated aromatic compounds (C₆H₆ + 3C1₂ = C₆H₆C1₆), reduction reactions (C₂H₄ + H₂ = C₂H₆), and reactions for the formation of complex compounds. Addition reactions are often intermediate steps in complex chemical processes.

The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.