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Chemical structure of methane, the simplest alkane. In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in which all the carbon–carbon bonds are single. [1]
They include higher alkanes and lipids, typically with melting points above about 40 °C (104 °F), melting to give low viscosity liquids. Waxes are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar organic solvents such as hexane, benzene and chloroform. Natural waxes of different types are produced by plants and animals and occur in petroleum.
The following chart shows the solubility of various ionic compounds in water at 1 atm pressure and room temperature (approx. 25 °C, 298.15 K). "Soluble" means the ionic compound doesn't precipitate, while "slightly soluble" and "insoluble" mean that a solid will precipitate; "slightly soluble" compounds like calcium sulfate may require heat to precipitate.
The tables below provides information on the variation of solubility of different substances (mostly inorganic compounds) in water with temperature, at one atmosphere pressure. Units of solubility are given in grams of substance per 100 millilitres of water (g/(100 mL)), unless shown otherwise. The substances are listed in alphabetical order.
Water on hydrophobic surfaces will exhibit a high contact angle. Examples of hydrophobic molecules include the alkanes, oils, fats, and greasy substances in general. Hydrophobic materials are used for oil removal from water, the management of oil spills, and chemical separation processes to remove non-polar substances from polar compounds. [2]
Unsaturated compounds generally carry out typical addition reactions that are not possible with saturated compounds such as alkanes. A saturated organic compound has only single bonds between carbon atoms. An important class of saturated compounds are the alkanes. Many saturated compounds have functional groups, e.g., alcohols.
The solubility of a specific solute in a specific solvent is generally expressed as the concentration of a saturated solution of the two. [1] Any of the several ways of expressing concentration of solutions can be used, such as the mass, volume, or amount in moles of the solute for a specific mass, volume, or mole amount of the solvent or of the solution.
Most fatty alcohols in nature are found as waxes, which are esters of fatty acids and fatty alcohols. [1] They are produced by bacteria, plants and animals for purposes of buoyancy, as source of metabolic water and energy, biosonar lenses (marine mammals) and for thermal insulation in the form of waxes (in plants and insects). [3]