Eicosane (alternative spellings icosane and eichosane) is an

alkane In organic chemistry, an alkane, or paraffin (a historical trivial name that also has other meanings), is an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon. In other words, an alkane consists of hydrogen and carbon atoms arranged in a tree structure in whi ...

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 ...

C₂₀H₄₂. It has 366,319 constitutional isomers. ''n''-Eicosane (the straight-chain structural

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formula – that is, the same number of atoms of each element (chemistry), element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. ''Isomerism'' refers to the exi ...

of eicosane) is the shortest compound found in

paraffin wax Paraffin wax (or petroleum wax) is a soft colorless solid derived from petroleum, coal, or oil shale that consists of a mixture of hydrocarbon molecules containing between 20 and 40 carbon atoms. It is solid at room temperature and melting poi ...

es, used to form candles. It can be isolated from agave attenuate leaves. It is also found in Vanilla madagascariensis and Gymnodinium nagasakiense.Eicosane Pubchem
/ref> Eicosane's size, state and chemical inactivity do not exclude it from the traits of its smaller alkane counterparts. It is a colorless or white, non-polar

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms that are held together by Force, attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions that satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemi ...

, nearly unreactive except when it burns. It is less dense than and insoluble in water. Its non-polar trait means it can only perform weak intermolecular bonding (

hydrophobic In chemistry, hydrophobicity is the chemical property of a molecule (called a hydrophobe) that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. In contrast, hydrophiles are attracted to water. Hydrophobic molecules tend to be nonpolar and, thu ...

van der Waals force In molecular physics and chemistry, the van der Waals force (sometimes van der Waals' force) is a distance-dependent interaction between atoms or molecules. Unlike ionic or covalent bonds, these attractions do not result from a chemical elec ...

s). Eicosane's phase transition at a moderate temperature makes it a candidate

phase change material A phase-change material (PCM) is a substance which releases/absorbs sufficient energy at phase transition to provide useful heat or cooling. Generally the transition will be from one of the first two fundamental states of matter - solid and li ...

, or PCM, which can be used to store thermal energy and control temperature. It can be detected in the body odor of persons suffering from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...

Naming

It is derived from ἐίκοσι (''eikosi''), Greek for 20 (cf. ''icosahedron''). IUPAC currently recommends icosane, whereas

Chemical Abstracts Service Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) is a division of the American Chemical Society. It is a source of chemical information and is located in Columbus, Ohio, United States. Print periodicals ''Chemical Abstracts'' is a periodical index that provid ...

and Beilstein use eicosane.

References

External links

Icosane
at Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases {{Alkanes Alkanes

Naming

See also

References

External links