Azodicarboxylic

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Relating to or containing azodicarboxylic acid, a nitrogen-containing organic compound used in chemical synthesis
2. Describing a substance or compound derived from azodicarboxylic acid, an organic molecule with two nitrogen atoms linked by a double bond
3. Of or pertaining to azodicarboxylic acid, a reactive chemical compound often employed as a reagent in laboratory reactions

Etymology: Azodicarboxylic is a chemical coinage built from older parts: "azo-", from French "azote" (nitrogen), itself coined in 1787 by Lavoisier and colleagues from Greek roots meaning "no life," since nitrogen does not support combustion or breathing; "di-", meaning two; and "carboxylic", from "carboxyl," the name for the group of atoms (a carbon bonded to oxygen, with a hydroxyl) that gives acids their acidic behaviour. Chemists put these together to describe a molecule carrying two carboxylic acid groups linked by a nitrogen-nitrogen bond. The most useful thing to know is that the "azo" in this word does not mean "containing nitrogen compounds" in a loose sense. It refers to the specific N=N linkage, so the name is a precise structural description rather than a general label. The compound it names, azodicarboxylic acid, is best known in its ester form, diethyl azodicarboxylate, used as a reagent in organic synthesis.