Alkyne

An alkyne is one of the four main types of hydrocarbons. Alkynes are true hydrocarbons, meaning they are made up of nothing but hydrogen and carbon.

Alkanes are based on the formula <m>C_{n}H_{2n-2}</m>.

• <m>C</m> is Carbon.
• <m>H</m> is Hydrogen.
• <m>n</m> refers to the number of molecules.

Alkynes are similar to Alkanes except they contain a triple bond between two carbon atoms. When one carbon shares a triple bond with another, this limits the number of hydrogen which can be bonded (resulting in less hydrogen atoms per carbon atom).

Examples are ethyne (<m>C_{2} H_{2}</m>), propyne (<m>C_{3} H_{4}</m>) and butyne (<m>C_{4} H_{6}</m>). Note that when we have 4 or more carbon in a chain, the position of the double bond can create different possible structures and uses a more precise nomenclature.

To learn more about alkynes, click here.