Introduction

In organic chemistry, an alkyne is an unsaturated hydrocarbon which has at least one carbon-carbon triple bond between two carbon atoms. The simplest acyclic alkynes with only one triple bond and no other functional groups form a homologous series with the general chemical formula CnH2n-2. Alkynes are traditionally known as acetylenes, although the name acetylene also refers specifically to C2H2, known formally as ethyne using IUPAC nomenclature.

Pre-Requisites:

Isomerism

Activity:

Fuel.

Real Life Question:

What is isomerism?

Key Words / FlashCards

Learning aids / Gadgets

Real life uses :

Alkynes are used in welding gases - used to be called oxy-acetylene welding.

Places to visit :

Chemistry laboratory.

Practical examples around us

What you learn in Theory:

Alkynes are organic molecules made of the functional group carbon-carbon triple bonds. They are written in the empirical formula of CnH2n-2. They are unsaturated hydrocarbons. Like alkenes have the suffix –ene, alkynes use the ending –yne. This suffix is used when there is only one alkyne in the molecule.

What you learn in Practice:

The alkynes are sometimes referred to as the acetylene series, the higher members of the series being named as derivatives of acetylene, e.g., propyne as methyl acetylene, 1-butyne as ethyl acetylene, and 2-butyne as dimethyl acetylene. The usefulness of the alkynes in chemical synthesis is due both to the reactions of the triple bond itself and to the relative acidity of a hydrogen atom bonded to a triply bonded carbon.