alkane

Etymology

From German Alkan, formed as alkyl + -ane.

noun

1. (organic chemistry) Any acyclic saturated hydrocarbon (methane, ethane, etc.).
   The carbon chain of an alkane may be linear or branched, but must not contain loops (cycles); its chemical formula is of the form CₙH₂ₙ₊₂.
   Whereas production levels of short-chain alkanes in plants are insufficient to provide an economically viable fuel source, the genes encoding the alkane biosynthetic pathway may provide a biotechnological resource for engineering fermentation organisms with the capacity to convert biomass to an alkane-based fuel. 1997, T. J. Savage, M. K. Hristova, R. Croteau, “Biochemistry of Short-Chain Alkanes: Evidence for an Elongation/Reduction/C1-Elimination Pathway”, in John Peter Williams, Mobashsher Uddin Khan, Nora Wan Lem, editors, Physiology, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of Plant Lipids, Kluwer Academic Publishers, page 51
   The oxidation of the simplest alkane methanol is carried out by methylotrophs that may be obligate or facultative. 2007, Alasdair H. Neilson, Ann-Sofie Allard, Environmental Degradation and Transformation of Organic Chemicals, Taylor & Francis (CRC Press), page 103
   2012, Chulsung Bae, Chapter 3: Catalytic Carbon-Boron Bond Formation via Activation of Alkane C-H Bonds, Pedro J. Pérez, Alkane C-H Activation by Single-Site Metal Catalysis, Springer, page 73, Alkanes are extremely unreactive toward nucleophiles and electrophiles because they are composed of nonpolar, strong, saturated C–H and C-C bonds.