Neohexene is the
hydrocarbon compound with the
chemical formula
A chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, such as pare ...
. It is a colorless liquid, with properties similar to other
hexene
In organic chemistry, hexene is a hydrocarbon with the chemical formula . The prefix "hex" is derived from the fact that there are 6 carbon atoms in the molecule, while the "-ene" suffix denotes that there is an alkene present—two carbon atoms ...
s. It is a precursor to commercial
synthetic musk
Synthetic musks are a class of synthetic aroma compounds to emulate the scent of deer musk and other animal musks (castoreum and civet). Synthetic musks have a clean, smooth and sweet scent lacking the fecal notes of animal musks. They are used as ...
perfumes.
Preparation and reactions
Neohexene is prepared by
ethenolysis
In organic chemistry, ethenolysis is a chemical process in which internal olefins are degraded using ethylene () as the reagent. The reaction is an example of olefin metathesis, cross metathesis. The utility of the reaction is driven by the low ...
of
diisobutene Diisobutene (also known as Diisobutylene and Isooctene) refers to a pair of organic compounds with the overall formula C8H16. The isomers have the same carbon skeleton but differ in the location of the C=C bond. Both are colorless liquids with ver ...
, an example of a
metathesis reaction:
:(CH
3)
3C-CH=C(CH
3)
2 + → (CH
3)
3C-CH= + (CH
3)
2C=
It is a building block to synthetic musks by its reaction with
''p''-cymene. It is also used in the industrial preparation of
terbinafine
Terbinafine, sold under the brand name Lamisil among others, is an antifungal medication used to treat pityriasis versicolor, onychomycosis, fungal nail infections, and ringworm including jock itch and athlete's foot. It is either oral adminis ...
.
In the study of
C-H activation, neohexene is often used as a hydrogen acceptor.
[{{cite journal, last1 = Liu, first1 = Fuchen, last2 = Pak, first2 = Esther B., last3 = Singh, first3 = Bharat, last4 = Jensen, first4 = Craig M., last5 = Goldman, first5 = Alan S., title = Dehydrogenation of ''n''-Alkanes Catalyzed by Iridium "Pincer" Complexes: Regioselective Formation of α-Olefins, journal = J. Am. Chem. Soc., year = 1999, volume = 121, issue = 16, pages = 4086-4087, doi = 10.1021/JA983460P]
References
Alkenes