Alkanes shapes

Unbranched alkanes are sometimes referred to as straight chain alkanes but as we 11 see m Chapter 3 their chains are not straight but instead tend to adopt the zigzag shape portrayed m the bond line formulas introduced m Section 1 7... 

As noted earlier m this section branched alkanes have lower boiling points than their unbranched isomers Isomers have of course the same number of atoms and elec Irons but a molecule of a branched alkane has a smaller surface area than an unbranched one The extended shape of an unbranched alkane permits more points of contact for mtermolecular associations Compare the boiling points of pentane and its isomers... 

Nonbonded interactions are the forces be tween atoms that aren t bonded to one another they may be either attractive or repulsive It often happens that the shape of a molecule may cause two atoms to be close in space even though they are sep arated from each other by many bonds Induced dipole/induced dipole interactions make van der Waals forces in alkanes weakly attractive at most distances but when two atoms are closer to each other than the sum of their van der Waals radii nuclear-nuclear and electron-electron repulsive forces between them dominate the fvan derwaais term The resulting destabilization is called van der Waals strain... 

In this chapter we explored the three dimensional shapes of alkanes and cycloalkanes The most important point to be taken from the chapter is that a molecule adopts the shape that minimizes its total strain The sources of strain m alkanes and cycloalkanes are... 

Consider three compounds similar m size and shape the alkane propane the alkyl halide fluoroethane and the alcohol ethanol... 

Section 16 2 The oxygen atom m an ether or epoxide affects the shape of the mole cule in much the same way as an sp hybridized carbon of an alkane or cycloalkane... 

Section 20 8 Esters are polar and have higher boiling points than alkanes of compa rable size and shape Esters don t form hydrogen bonds to other ester molecules so have lower boiling points than analogous alcohols They can form hydrogen bonds to water and so are comparable to alcohols m their solubility m water... 

The detailed study of chemical composition, stmcture, surface, shape and sizes of particles of fine-dispersed zeolite powder by EPMA will provide useful recommendations to improve the technology of producing alkanes and alkyl benzenes catalysts. 

The size of the free space varies slightly as a result of the size and the shape of the molecule to be included. This fact is used in the separation of molecules. A relevant example in petroleum refinement is the separation of paraffins from other compounds with urea. In this case, a channel-like lattice is formed by urea. In the free space linear alkanes (n-octane) find space, whereas branched alkanes (i-octane) cannot be included. 

For the non-oxidative activation of light alkanes, the direct alkylation of toluene with ethane was chosen as an industrially relevant model reaction. The catalytic performance of ZSM-5 zeolites, which are good catalysts for this model reaction, was compared to the one of zeolite MCM-22, which is used in industry for the alkylation of aromatics with alkenes in the liquid phase. The catalytic experiments were carried out in a fixed-bed reactor and in a batch reactor. The results show that the shape-selective properties of zeolite ZSM-5 are more appropriate to favor the dehydroalkylation reaction, whereas on zeolite MCM-22 with its large cavities in the pore system and half-cavities on the external surface the thermodynamically favored side reaction with its large transition state, the disproportionation of toluene, prevails. 

An alkane is a hydrocarbon that has only single bonds. Alkanes that do not contain rings have the formula C H2n + 2 An alkane in the shape of a ring is called a cycloalkane. Cycloalkanes have the formula CnH2n- An alkene is a compound that has at least one double bond. Straight-chain alkenes with one double bond have the same formula as cycloalkanes, Cj,H22,. 

Several metal oxides could be used as acid catalysts, although zeolites and zeo-types are mainly preferred as an alternative to liquid acids (Figure 13.1). This is a consequence of the possibility of tuning the acidity of microporous materials as well as the shape selectivity observed with zeolites that have favored their use in new catalytic processes. However, a solid with similar or higher acid strength than 100% sulfuric acid (the so-called superacid materials) could be preferred in some processes. From these solid catalysts, nation, heteropolyoxometalates, or sulfated metal oxides have been extensively studied in the last ten years (Figure 13.2). Their so-called superacid character has favored their use in a large number of acid reactions alkane isomerization, alkylation of isobutene, or aromatic hydrocarbons with olefins, acylation, nitrations, and so forth. 

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