Pentane is an organic compound with the formula C5H12—that is, an alkane with five carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of three structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, pentane means exclusively the n-pentane isomer, in which case pentanes refers to a mixture of them; the other two are called isopentane (methylbutane) and neopentane (dimethylpropane). Cyclopentane is not an isomer of pentane because it has only 10 hydrogen atoms where pentane has 12.
Pentanes are components of some fuels and are employed as specialty solvents in the laboratory. Their properties are very similar to those of butanes and hexanes.
Pentanes are some of the primary blowing agents used in the production of polystyrene foam and other foams. Usually, a mixture of n-, i-, and increasingly cyclopentane is used for this purpose.
Acid-catalyzed isomerization gives isopentane, which is used in producing high-octane fuels.[7]
Pentanes are solvents in many ordinary products, e.g. in some pesticides.[8]
Laboratory use
Pentanes are relatively inexpensive and are the most volatile liquid alkanes at room temperature, so they are often used in the laboratory as solvents that can be conveniently and rapidly evaporated. However, because of their nonpolarity and lack of functionality, they dissolve only nonpolar and alkyl-rich compounds. Pentanes are miscible with most common nonpolar solvents such as chlorocarbons, aromatics, and ethers.
The boiling points of the pentane isomers range from about 9 to 36 °C. As is the case for other alkanes, the more thickly branched isomers tend to have lower boiling points.
The same tends to be true for the melting points of alkane isomers, and that of isopentane is 30 °C lower than that of n-pentane. However, the melting point of neopentane, the most heavily branched of the three, is 100 °C higher than that of isopentane. The anomalously high melting point of neopentane has been attributed to the tetrahedralmolecules packing more closely in solid form; this explanation is contradicted by the fact that neopentane has a lower density than the other two isomers,[9] and the high melting point is actually caused by neopentane's significantly lower entropy of fusion.
Like other alkanes, pentanes are largely unreactive at standard room temperature and conditions - however, with sufficient activation energy (e.g., an open flame), they readily oxidize to form carbon dioxide and water:
Such reactions are unselective; with n-pentane, the result is a mixture of the 1-, 2-, and 3-chloropentanes, as well as more highly chlorinated derivatives. Other radical halogenations can also occur.
It occurs in alcoholic beverages and in hop oil.[13] It is a component of exhaled breath for some individuals. A degradation product of unsaturated fatty acids, its presence is associated with some diseases and cancers.[14]
References
^Hofmann, August Wilhelm Von (1 January 1867). "I. On the action of trichloride of phosphorus on the salts of the aromatic monamines". Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. 15: 54–62. doi:10.1098/rspl.1866.0018. S2CID98496840.
^Karl Griesbaum; Arno Behr; Dieter Biedenkapp; Heinz-Werner Voges; Dorothea Garbe; Christian Paetz; Gerd Collin; Dieter Mayer; Hartmut Höke (2002). "Hydrocarbons". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a13_227. ISBN978-3-527-30673-2.
^Milne, G. W. A., ed. (2005). Gardner's Commercially Important Chemicals: Synonyms, Trade Names, and Properties. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. p. 477. ISBN978-0-471-73518-2.
^Wei, James (1999). "Molecular Symmetry, Rotational Entropy, and Elevated Melting Points". Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research. 38 (12). American Chemical Society (ACS): 5019–5027. doi:10.1021/ie990588m. ISSN0888-5885.
^Good, W.D (1970). "The enthalpies of combustion and formation of the isomeric pentanes". The Journal of Chemical Thermodynamics. 2 (2). Elsevier BV: 237–244. doi:10.1016/0021-9614(70)90088-1. ISSN0021-9614.
^Roman M. Balabin (2009). "Enthalpy Difference between Conformations of Normal Alkanes: Raman Spectroscopy Study of n-Pentane and n-Butane". J. Phys. Chem. A. 113 (6): 1012–9. Bibcode:2009JPCA..113.1012B. doi:10.1021/jp809639s. PMID19152252.
^Phillips, Michael; Herrera, Jolanta; Krishnan, Sunithi; Zain, Mooena; Greenberg, Joel; Cataneo, Renee N. (1999). "Variation in volatile organic compounds in the breath of normal humans". Journal of Chromatography B: Biomedical Sciences and Applications. 729 (1–2): 75–88. doi:10.1016/S0378-4347(99)00127-9. PMID10410929.
