Saturated hydrocarbons
(a) Contains only single covalent bonds(b) E.g.: Alkanes, Cycloalkanes, Alcohols, & more
Saturated hydrocarbons are compounds composed of only carbon and hydrogen elements that contain only single chemical bonds between their carbon atoms. These compounds are called “saturated” because they have the maximum number of hydrogen atoms bonded to every available carbon atom, resulting in a molecule stable structure which allows no more hydrogen atom to form a new bond. Saturated hydrocarbons are also referred to as alkanes and have a general formula of CnH2n+2.
Alkanes are the simplest type of hydrocarbon, and they are found in many natural resources like natural gas, crude oil and petroleum. They exist in various states of matter at room temperature, ranging from gases like methane and ethane, to liquids like butane and pentane, to solid waxes like paraffin. Alkanes are nonpolar and tend to not react with most chemicals, making them hydrophobic and also insoluble in water.
Examples of saturated hydrocarbons or alkanes include methane (CH4), ethane (C2H6), propane (C3H8), butane (C4H10), pentane (C5H12), hexane (C6H14), heptane (C7H16), octane (C8H18), and many others.
More Answers:
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Unsaturated Hydrocarbons: Properties, Examples, and Applications