Unsaturation

Name:
Unsaturation
Detailed information:
Of a chemical compound, the state in which not all the available valence bonds along the alkyl chain are satisfied; in such compounds the extra bonds usually form double or triple bonds (chiefly with carbon). Thus, unsaturated compounds are more reactive than saturated compounds because other elements readily add to the unsaturated linkage. An unsaturated compound (ethylene, C₂H₄; butadiene, C₄H₆; benzene, C₆H₆) has fewer hydrogen atoms or equivalent groups than the corresponding saturated compound (ethane, C₂H₆; butane, C₄H₁₀; cyclohexane, C₆H₁₂).In structural formulas unsaturation may be represented by parallel lines joining the carbon atoms (ethylene, H₂C═CH₂; butadiene H₂C═CHCH═CH₂) or by colons or triple dots, H₂C:CH₂H₂C:CH₂ (ethylene) and HC…CH (acetylene). See Carboxyl Group.