Aliphatic compound

Acyclic aliphatic/non-aromatic compound (butane)

Cyclic aliphatic/non-aromatic compound (cyclobutane)

In organic chemistry, hydrocarbons (compounds composed of carbon and hydrogen) are divided into two classes: aromatic compounds and aliphatic compounds (/ˌælɪˈfætɪk/; G. aleiphar, fat, oil) also known as non-aromatic compounds. Aliphatics can be cyclic, but only aromatic compounds contain an especially stable ring of atoms, such as benzene.^[1] Aliphatic compounds can be saturated, like hexane, or unsaturated, like hexene and hexyne. Open-chain compounds (whether straight or branched) contain no rings of any type, and are thus aliphatic.

Contents

• 
  1 Structure
  


• 
  2 Properties
  


• 
  3 Examples of aliphatic compounds / non-aromatic
  


• 
  4 References
  

Structure

Aliphatic compounds can be saturated, joined by single bonds (alkanes), or unsaturated, with double bonds (alkenes) or triple bonds (alkynes). Besides hydrogen, other elements can be bound to the carbon chain, the most common being oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and chlorine.

The least complex aliphatic compound is methane (CH₄).

Properties

Most aliphatic compounds are flammable, allowing the use of hydrocarbons as fuel, such as methane in Bunsen burners and as liquefied natural gas (LNG), and acetylene in welding.

Examples of aliphatic compounds / non-aromatic

The most important aliphatic compounds are:

• n-, iso- and cyclo-alkanes (saturated hydrocarbons)


• n-, iso- and cyclo-alkenes and -alkynes (unsaturated hydrocarbons).

Important examples of low-molecular aliphatic compounds can be found in the list below (sorted by the number of carbon-atoms):

Formula	Name	Structural Formula	Chemical Classification
CH4	Methane		Alkane
C2H2	Acetylene		Alkyne
C2H4	Ethylene		Alkene
C2H6	Ethane		Alkane
C3H4	Propyne		Alkyne
C3H6	Propene		Alkene
C3H8	Propane		Alkane
C4H6	1,2-Butadiene		Diene
C4H6	1-Butyne		Alkyne
C4H8	1-Butene		Alkene
C4H10	Butane		Alkane
C6H10	Cyclohexene		Cycloalkene
C5H12	n-pentane		Alkane
C7H14	Cycloheptane		Cycloalkane
C7H14	Methylcyclohexane		Cyclohexane
C8H8	Cubane		Octane
C9H20	Nonane		Alkane
C10H12	Dicyclopentadiene		Diene, Cycloalkene
C10H16	Phellandrene		Terpene, Diene Cycloalkene
C10H16	α-Terpinene		Terpene, Cycloalkene, Diene
C10H16	Limonene		Terpene, Diene, Cycloalkene
C11H24	Undecane		Alkane
C30H50	Squalene		Terpene, Polyene
C2nH4n	Polyethylene		Alkane

References

1. 
   ^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version:  (1995) "aliphatic compounds".
   

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