HYDROCARBONS

Hydrocarbons,familyoforganiccompounds,
composed
entirely of carbon and hydrogen. They are the organic
compounds of simplest composition and may be considered
the parent substances from which all other organic
compounds are derived. The hydrocarbons are conveniently
classified into two major groups, open-chain and cyclic. In
open-chain compounds containing more than one carbon
atom, the carbon atoms are attached to each other to form
an open chain; the chain may carry one or more side
branches. In cyclic compounds the carbon atoms form one
or more closed rings. The two major groups are subdivided
according to chemical behavior into saturated and
unsaturated compounds. See Chemistry, Organic.

OPEN-CHAIN
HYDROCARBONS
Thesaturatedopen-chain hydrocarbons form a homologous
series called the paraffin (Latin parum affinis, little affinity)
series or the alkane series. The composition of each of the
members of the series corresponds to the formula CnH2n+2,
where n is the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. Among
the members of the series are methane CH4; ethane, C2H6;
propane, C3H8; and butane, C4H10. All the members of the series
are unreactive; that is, they do not react readily at ordinary
temperatures with such reagents as acids, alkalies, or oxidizers.
The first four members of the series are gases at ordinary
temperature and pressure; intermediate members are liquids;
and the heavier members are semisolids or solids. Petroleum
contains a great variety of saturated hydrocarbons, and such
petroleum products as gasoline, kerosene, heavy fuel oil,
lubricating oils, petroleum jelly, and paraffin consist principally
of mixtures of paraffin hydrocarbons, which range from the
lighter liquid members to the solid members.

ALKENE SERIES
Theunsaturatedopen-chain hydrocarbons include
the alkene or olefin series, the diene series, and
the alkyne series. The alkene series is made up of
chain hydrocarbons in which a double bond exists
between two carbon atoms. The general formula
for the series is CnH2n, where n is the number of
carbon atoms. As in the paraffin series, the lower
members are gases, intermediate compounds are
liquids, and the higher members of the series are
solids. The alkene series compounds are more
active chemically than the saturated compounds.
They easily react with substances such as
halogens, adding atoms at the double bonds.

ALKENE SERIES
They are not found to any extent in natural
products, but are produced in the destructive
distillation of complex natural substances, such as
coal, and are formed in large amounts in
petroleum refining, particularly in the cracking
process. The first member of the series is
ethylene, C2H4. The dienes contain two double
bonds between pairs of carbon atoms in the
molecule. They are related to the complex
hydrocarbons in natural rubber and are important
in the manufacture of synthetic rubber and
plastics; important members of this series are
butadiene, C4H6, and isoprene, C5H8.

ALKYNE SERIES
Themembersofthealkyne series contain
a triple bond between two carbon atoms in
the molecule. They are very active
chemically and are not found free in
nature. They form a series analogous to
the alkene series. The first and most
important member of the series is
acetylene, C2H2.

CYCLIC
HYDROCARBONS
Thesimplestofthesaturated cyclic hydrocarbons,
or cycloalkanes, is cyclopropane, C3H6, the
molecules of which are made up of three carbon
atoms to each of which two hydrogen atoms are
attached. Cyclopropane is somewhat more reactive
than the corresponding open-chain alkane, propane,
C3H8. Other cycloalkanes make up a part of ordinary
gasoline.
Severalunsaturatedcyclic hydrocarbons, having the
general formula C10H16, occur in certain fragrant
natural oils that are distilled from plant materials.
These hydrocarbons are called terpenes and include
pinene (in turpentine) and limonene (in lemon and
orange oils).

CYCLIC
HYDROCARBONS
Themostimportantgroup of unsaturated cyclic
hydrocarbons is the aromatics, which occur in
coal tar. Although the aromatics sometimes
exhibit unsaturation, that is, the addition of other
substances, their principal reactions bring about
the replacement of hydrogen atoms by other
kinds of atoms or groups of atoms. The aromatic
hydrocarbons
include
benzene,
toluene,
anthracene, and naphthalene. See Aromatic
Compounds.