Inorganic chemical compound

A chemical compound is termed inorganic if it fulfills one or more of the following criteria:

There is no clear or universally agreed-upon distinction between organic and inorganic compounds. Organic chemists traditionally and generally refer to any molecule containing carbon as an organic compound and by default this means that inorganic chemistry deals with molecules lacking carbon. As many minerals are of biological origin, biologists may distinguish organic from inorganic compounds in a different way that does not hinge on the presence of a carbon atom. Pools of organic matter, for example, that have been metabolically incorporated into living tissues persist in decomposing tissues, but as molecules become oxidized into the open environment, such as atmospheric CO₂, this creates a separate pool of inorganic compounds. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC), an agency widely recognized for defining chemical terms, does not offer definitions of inorganic or organic compounds. Hence, the definition for an inorganic versus an organic compound in a multidisciplinary context spans the division between organic life living (or animate) and inorganic non-living (or inanimate) matter. In broader speech, the term commonly referred to compounds synthesised by purely geological systems, in contrast to those with a biological component in their origin.

The Wöhler synthesis is the conversion of ammonium cyanate into urea. This chemical reaction was discovered in 1828 by Friedrich Wöhler and is considered the starting point of modern organic chemistry.

The Wöhler synthesis is of great historical significance because for the first time an organic compound was produced from inorganic reactants. This finding went against the mainstream theory of that time called vitalism, which stated that organic matter possessed a special force or vital force inherent to all things living. For this reason a sharp boundary existed between organic and inorganic compounds. Urea was discovered in 1799 and could until 1828 only be obtained from biological sources such as urine. Wöhler reported to his mentor Berzelius:

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