Methylidyne radical

Methylidyne radical
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
Methylidyne[1]
Systematic IUPAC name
Hydridocarbon
hydridocarbon(•),[2]
Hydridocarbon(3•)[3]
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
7801830
ChEBI
24689
  • InChI=1S/CH/h1H
    Key: VRLIPUYDFBXWCH-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • [CH]
Properties
CH, CH, CH3•
Molar mass 13.0186 g mol−1
Appearance Colourless gas
Reacts
Thermochemistry
183.04 J K−1 mol−1
594.13 kJ mol−1
Related compounds
Related compounds
Methyl (CH3)
Methylene (CH2)
Carbide (C)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).

Methylidyne, or (unsubstituted) carbyne, is an organic compound whose molecule consists of a single hydrogen atom bonded to a carbon atom. It is the parent compound of the carbynes, which can be seen as obtained from it by substitution of other functional groups for the hydrogen.

The carbon atom is left with either one or three unpaired electrons (unsatisfied valence bonds), depending on the molecule's excitation state; making it a radical. Accordingly, the chemical formula can be CH or CH3• (also written as CH); each dot representing an unpaired electron. The corresponding systematic names are methylylidene or hydridocarbon(•), and methanetriyl or hydridocarbon(3•). However, the formula is often written simply as CH.

Methylidyne is a highly reactive gas, that is quickly destroyed in ordinary conditions but is abundant in the interstellar medium (and was one of the first molecules to be detected there).[4]

  1. ^ Henri A. Favre; Warren H. Powell (2014). Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry : IUPAC Recommendations and Preferred Names 2013. Cambridge, England: Royal Society of Chemistry. p. 1054. ISBN 978-0-85404-182-4.
  2. ^ "hydridocarbon (CHEBI:51382)". Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI). UK: European Bioinformatics Institute. IUPAC Name.
  3. ^ "hydridocarbon(3•)". Substance page at the Chemical Entities of Biological Interest (ChEBI) website, European Bioinformatics Institute, UK. Accessed on 2019-04-20
  4. ^ Encyclopedia of Astrobiology, Volume 1 edited by Ricardo Amils, José Cernicharo Quintanilla, Henderson James Cleaves, William M. Irvine, Daniele Pinti, Michel Viso. 2011, Springer: Heidelberg