The Natta projection is a way to depict molecules with complete stereochemistry

Stereochemistry

Stereochemistry, a subdiscipline of chemistry, involves the study of the relative spatial arrangement of atoms within molecules. An important branch of stereochemistry is the study of chiral molecules....

 in two dimensions in a skeletal formula

Skeletal formula

The skeletal formula of an organic compound is a shorthand representation of its molecular structure, developed by the organic chemist, Friedrich August Kekulé von Stradonitz. Skeletal formulae are ubiquitous in organic chemistry, because they are relatively quick and simple to draw. Carbon and...

. This concept is named after Giulio Natta

Giulio Natta

Giulio Natta was an Italian chemist and Nobel laureate. He won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1963 with Karl Ziegler for work on high polymers.-Early years:...

. In a hydrocarbon

Hydrocarbon

In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups, called hydrocarbyls....

 molecule with all carbon atoms making up the backbone in a tetrahedral molecular geometry

Tetrahedral molecular geometry

In a tetrahedral molecular geometry a central atom is located at the center with four substituents that are located at the corners of a tetrahedron. The bond angles are cos−1 ≈ 109.5° when all four substituents are the same, as in CH4. This molecular geometry is common throughout the first...

, the zigzag backbone is in the paper plane with the substituents either sticking out of the paper (chemical bond

Chemical bond

A chemical bond is an attraction between atoms that allows the formation of chemical substances that contain two or more atoms. The bond is caused by the electromagnetic force attraction between opposite charges, either between electrons and nuclei, or as the result of a dipole attraction...

 depicted triangular in bold) or retreating into the paper (chemical bond depicted triangular in stripe pattern). The Natta projection is useful for representing the tacticity

Tacticity

Tacticity is the relative stereochemistry of adjacent chiral centers within a macromolecule. The practical significance of tacticity rests on the effects of tacticity on the physical properties of the polymer...

of a polymer.