methane

Also known as CH4, marsh gas, methyl hydride, tetrahydridocarbon, Carbane, tetrahydrogen monocarbide, CH₄, nonessential gasotransmitter

Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound that has the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The abundance of methane on Earth makes it an economically attractive fuel, although capturing and storing it is difficult because it is a gas at standard temperature and pressure. In the Earth's atmosphere methane is transparent to visible light but absorbs infrared radiation, acting as a greenhouse gas. Methane is an organic hydrocarbon, and among the simplest of organic compounds.

OverviewAI-generated

Methane is a chemical compound with the formula CH₄. It has a canonical SMILES representation of "C" and an IUPAC name of methane. The substance has a mass of 16.031 and a weight of 16.043. Its electric dipole moment is 0, and it has zero hydrogen bond donors and acceptors. The compound was discovered in 1777.

Physical properties include a melting point of -182.49 or -182.46 and a boiling point of 111.4, -161, or -161.48. The speed of sound in methane is 1337, and its density is 422.36. Standard molar entropy is 186.3, while the standard enthalpy of formation is -74520. Combustion enthalpy is -890.3, and the autoignition temperature is 537.8. The global warming potential is 84, and the ozone depletion potential is 0. The ionization energy is 12.51.

Synthesized by Vinony from 31 facts across 4 sources: Wikidata, PubChem, PubMed, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Chemical data

Formula: CH4
Molecular weight: 16.043 g/mol
IUPAC name: methane
SMILES: C
InChIKey: VNWKTOKETHGBQD-UHFFFAOYSA-N
XLogP: 0.6
Polar surface area: 0 Å²
H-bond donors: 0
H-bond acceptors: 0
Formal charge: 0

via PubChem

Research

54,580 papers

Utilisation of low methane concentrations by methanotrophs.ReviewAdvances in microbial physiology · 2024He L, Lidstrom MEDOI: 10.1016/bs.ampbs.2024.04.005
Physiology of atmospheric methane-oxidizing bacteria.ReviewCurrent opinion in microbiology · 2025Tveit AT, Dumont MG, Schmider TDOI: 10.1016/j.mib.2025.102656
Ion spectroscopy in methane activation.ReviewMass spectrometry reviews · 2022Roithová J, Bakker JMDOI: 10.1002/mas.21698
Quantitative assessment of methane bioconversion based on kinetics and bioenergetics.ReviewBioresource technology · 2024Hwang IY, Kalyuzhnaya MG, Lee EYDOI: 10.1016/j.biortech.2024.131269
Methane emission from sewers.ReviewThe Science of the total environment · 2015Liu Y, Ni BJ, Sharma KR et al.DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.04.029
Strategies to Mitigate Enteric Methane Emissions from Ruminant Animals.ReviewJournal of microbiology and biotechnology · 2022Tseten T, Sanjorjo RA, Kwon M et al.DOI: 10.4014/jmb.2202.02019
Methane and the gastrointestinal tract.ReviewDigestive diseases and sciences · 2010Sahakian AB, Jee SR, Pimentel MDOI: 10.1007/s10620-009-1012-0
Methane Medicine: A Rising Star Gas with Powerful Anti-Inflammation, Antioxidant, and Antiapoptosis Properties.ReviewOxidative medicine and cellular longevity · 2018Jia Y, Li Z, Liu C et al.DOI: 10.1155/2018/1912746

via PubMed

~32 min read

Encyclopedic overview

36 sections

Contents

Properties and bonding
Chemical reactions
Selective oxidation
Acid–base reactions
Combustion
Methane radical reactions
Uses
Fuel
Rocket propellant
Chemical feedstock
Refrigerant
Generation
Geological routes
Biological routes
Wetlands
Ruminants
Seafloor sediments
Industrial routes
Laboratory synthesis
Occurrence
Atmospheric methane and climate change
Clathrates
Public safety and the environment
Extraterrestrial methane
Interstellar medium
Mars
Titan
History
Etymology
Abbreviations
Safety
See also
Explanatory notes
Citations
Cited sources
External links

Naturally occurring methane is found both below ground and under the seafloor and is formed by both geological and biological processes. The largest reservoir of methane is under the seafloor in the form of methane clathrates. When methane reaches the surface and the atmosphere, it is known as atmospheric methane.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “methane” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.