Alkene

Uncommon card · No. 192857

In organic chemistry, an alkene, or olefin, is a hydrocarbon containing one or more carbon–carbon double bonds. The double bond may be internal or at the terminal position. Terminal alkenes are also known as α-olefins. The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) recommends using the name "alkene" only for acyclic hydrocarbons with just one double bond; alkadiene, alkatriene, etc., or polyene for acyclic hydrocarbons with two or more double bonds; cycloalkene, cycloalkadiene, etc. for cyclic ones; and "olefin" for the general class – cyclic or acyclic, with one or more double bonds. Acyclic alkenes having only one double bond (known as mono-enes) form a homologous series of hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n, where n is at least two, which is two fewer hydrogens than the corresponding alkane (CnH2n+2). When n is four or more, as in butene, there are isomers that are distinguished by the connectivity of the carbon skeleton and by the position and conformation of...

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