ethylene
Sign in to saveEthylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon–carbon double bonds).
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Ethylene is a colorless, flammable gas made of carbon and hydrogen atoms, known for its faint sweet smell. It's the simplest type of hydrocarbon that contains a carbon-carbon double bond, making it chemically important in industry and nature.
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Article
22 sectionsContents
- Structure and properties
- Production
- Industrial process
- Laboratory synthesis
- Biosynthesis
- Uses
- Polymerization
- Oxidation
- Halogenation and hydrohalogenation
- Alkylation
- Oxo reaction
- Hydration
- Dimerization to butenes
- Fruit and flowering
- Niche uses
- Ligand
- History
- Nomenclature
- Safety
- See also
- References
- External links
Ethylene (IUPAC name: ethene) is a hydrocarbon which has the formula or . It is a colourless, flammable gas with a faint "sweet and musky" odour when pure. It is the simplest alkene (a hydrocarbon with carbon–carbon double bonds).
Ethylene is widely used in the chemical industry, and its worldwide production (over 225 million tonnes in 2022) exceeds that of any other organic compound. Much of this production goes toward creating polyethylene, which is a widely used plastic containing polymer chains of ethylene units in various chain lengths. Production emits greenhouse gases, including methane from feedstock production and carbon dioxide from any non-sustainable energy used.