Hydrocarbon | Definition, Types, & Facts | Britannica (original) (raw)

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hydrocarbon, any of a class of organic chemical compounds composed only of the elements carbon (C) and hydrogen (H). The carbon atoms join together to form the framework of the compound, and the hydrogen atoms attach to them in many different configurations. Hydrocarbons are the principal constituents of petroleum and natural gas. They serve as fuels and lubricants as well as raw materials for the production of plastics, fibres, rubbers, solvents, explosives, and industrial chemicals.

Many hydrocarbons occur in nature. In addition to making up fossil fuels, they are present in trees and plants, as, for example, in the form of pigments called carotenes that occur in carrots and green leaves. More than 98 percent of natural crude rubber is a hydrocarbon polymer, a chainlike molecule consisting of many units linked together. The structures and chemistry of individual hydrocarbons depend in large part on the types of chemical bonds that link together the atoms of their constituent molecules.

Nineteenth-century chemists classified hydrocarbons as either aliphatic or aromatic on the basis of their sources and properties. Aliphatic (from Greek aleiphar, “fat”) described hydrocarbons derived by chemical degradation of fats or oils. Aromatic hydrocarbons constituted a group of related substances obtained by chemical degradation of certain pleasant-smelling plant extracts. The terms aliphatic and aromatic are retained in modern terminology, but the compounds they describe are distinguished on the basis of structure rather than origin.

Aliphatic hydrocarbons are divided into three main groups according to the types of bonds they contain: alkanes, alkenes, and alkynes. Alkanes have only single bonds, alkenes contain a carbon-carbon double bond, and alkynes contain a carbon-carbon triple bond. Aromatic hydrocarbons are those that are significantly more stable than their Lewis structures would suggest; i.e., they possess “special stability.” They are classified as either arenes, which contain a benzene ring as a structural unit, or nonbenzenoid aromatic hydrocarbons, which possess special stability but lack a benzene ring as a structural unit.

This classification of hydrocarbons serves as an aid in associating structural features with properties but does not require that a particular substance be assigned to a single class. Indeed, it is common for a molecule to incorporate structural units characteristic of two or more hydrocarbon families. A molecule that contains both a carbon-carbon triple bond and a benzene ring, for example, would exhibit some properties that are characteristic of alkynes and others that are characteristic of arenes.

Alkanes are described as saturated hydrocarbons, while alkenes, alkynes, and aromatic hydrocarbons are said to be unsaturated.

Aliphatic hydrocarbons

Alkanes

Alkanes, hydrocarbons in which all the bonds are single, have molecular formulas that satisfy the general expression C_n_H2_n_ + 2 (where n is an integer). Carbon is s _p_3 hybridized (three electron pairs are involved in bonding, forming a tetrahedral complex), and each C—C and C—H bond is a sigma (σ) bond (see chemical bonding). In order of increasing number of carbon atoms, methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), and propane (C3H8) are the first three members of the series.

Methane, ethane, and propane are the only alkanes uniquely defined by their molecular formula. For C4H10 two different alkanes satisfy the rules of chemical bonding (namely, that carbon has four bonds and hydrogen has one in neutral molecules). One compound, called _n_-butane, where the prefix _n_- represents normal, has its four carbon atoms bonded in a continuous chain. The other, called isobutane, has a branched chain.

Different compounds that have the same molecular formula are called isomers. Isomers that differ in the order in which the atoms are connected are said to have different constitutions and are referred to as constitutional isomers. (An older name is structural isomers.) The compounds _n_-butane and isobutane are constitutional isomers and are the only ones possible for the formula C4H10. Because isomers are different compounds, they can have different physical and chemical properties. For example, _n_-butane has a higher boiling point (−0.5 °C [31.1 °F]) than isobutane (−11.7 °C [10.9 °F]).

There is no simple arithmetic relationship between the number of carbon atoms in a formula and the number of isomers. Graph theory has been used to calculate the number of constitutionally isomeric alkanes possible for values of n in C_n_H2_n_ + 2 from 1 through 400. The number of constitutional isomers increases sharply as the number of carbon atoms increases. There is probably no upper limit to the number of carbon atoms possible in hydrocarbons. The alkane CH3(CH2)388CH3, in which 390 carbon atoms are bonded in a continuous chain, has been synthesized as an example of a so-called superlong alkane. Several thousand carbon atoms are joined together in molecules of hydrocarbon polymers such as polyethylene, polypropylene, and polystyrene.

Number of possible alkane isomers

Nomenclature

The need to give each compound a unique name requires a richer variety of terms than is available with descriptive prefixes such as _n_- and iso-. The naming of organic compounds is facilitated through the use of formal systems of nomenclature. Nomenclature in organic chemistry is of two types: common and systematic. Common names originate in many different ways but share the feature that there is no necessary connection between name and structure. The name that corresponds to a specific structure must simply be memorized, much like learning the name of a person. Systematic names, on the other hand, are keyed directly to molecular structure according to a generally agreed upon set of rules. The most widely used standards for organic nomenclature evolved from suggestions made by a group of chemists assembled for that purpose in Geneva in 1892 and have been revised on a regular basis by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC). The IUPAC rules govern all classes of organic compounds but are ultimately based on alkane names. Compounds in other families are viewed as derived from alkanes by appending functional groups to, or otherwise modifying, the carbon skeleton.

The IUPAC rules assign names to unbranched alkanes according to the number of their carbon atoms. Methane, ethane, and propane are retained for CH4, CH3CH3, and CH3CH2CH3, respectively. The _n_- prefix is not used for unbranched alkanes in systematic IUPAC nomenclature; therefore, CH3CH2CH2CH3 is defined as butane, not _n_-butane. Beginning with five-carbon chains, the names of unbranched alkanes consist of a Latin or Greek stem corresponding to the number of carbons in the chain followed by the suffix -ane. A group of compounds such as the unbranched alkanes that differ from one another by successive introduction of CH2 groups constitute a homologous series.

IUPAC names of unbranched alkanes

Alkanes with branched chains are named on the basis of the name of the longest chain of carbon atoms in the molecule, called the parent. The alkane shown has seven carbons in its longest chain and is therefore named as a derivative of heptane, the unbranched alkane that contains seven carbon atoms. The position of the CH3 (methyl) substituent on the seven-carbon chain is specified by a number (3-), called a locant, obtained by successively numbering the carbons in the parent chain starting at the end nearer the branch. The compound is therefore called 3-methylheptane.

When there are two or more identical substituents, replicating prefixes (di-, tri-, tetra-, etc.) are used, along with a separate locant for each substituent. Different substituents, such as ethyl (―CH2CH3) and methyl (―CH3) groups, are cited in alphabetical order. Replicating prefixes are ignored when alphabetizing. In alkanes, numbering begins at the end nearest the substituent that appears first on the chain so that the carbon to which it is attached has as low a number as possible.

Methyl and ethyl are examples of alkyl groups. An alkyl group is derived from an alkane by deleting one of its hydrogens, thereby leaving a potential point of attachment. Methyl is the only alkyl group derivable from methane and ethyl the only one from ethane. There are two C3H7 and four C4H9 alkyl groups. The IUPAC rules for naming alkanes and alkyl groups cover even very complex structures and are regularly updated. They are unambiguous in the sense that, although a single compound may have more than one correct IUPAC name, there is no possibility that two different compounds will have the same name.