Octatetraynyl radical () is an
organic free radical
A daughter category of ''Ageing'', this category deals only with the biological aspects of ageing.
Ageing
Ailments of unknown cause
Biogerontology
Biological processes
Causes of death
Cellular processes
Gerontology
Life extension
Metabo ...
with eight
carbon
Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent—its atom making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds. It belongs to group 14 of the periodic table. Carbon mak ...
atoms linked in a
linear chain with alternating
single bonds and
triple bond
A triple bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two atoms involving six bonding electrons instead of the usual two in a covalent single bond. Triple bonds are stronger than the equivalent single bonds or double bonds, with a bond order o ...
s ().
In 2007 negatively charged octatetraynyl was detected in Galactic molecular source
TMC-1, making it the second type of
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
to be found in the
interstellar medium (after
hexatriynyl radical) and the largest such molecule detected to date.
References
{{Molecules detected in outer space
Alkynes
Free radicals
Polyynes