ABSTRACT
Carbon and nitrogen have a complex chemistry, and can form carbon/nitrogen single, double, and triple bonds, denoted C-N, C=N, and C≡N respectively. An amide contains a carbonyl group with a carbon atom on one side and a nitrogen atom on the other side. Amides are derivatives of carboxylic acids and are named by dropping the 'ic' suffix from the name of the parent acid and attaching the suffix 'amide'. The dipole moment of an N-H bond is smaller than that of an O-H bond, which means the hydrogen bonding in amides is weaker than in alcohols and carboxylic acids. The N-H moiety can bend as well as stretch and, like many other functional groups, there is an in-plane and out-of-plane bending vibration in secondary amides. Protein molecules are of great biological importance. Imides contain two carbonyl groups separated by a nitrogen atom. Straight chain imides have spectra very similar to secondary amides.
