Neopentane

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Neopentane
Stereo, skeletal formula of neopentane
Skeletal formula of neopentane with all implicit carbons shown, and all explicit hydrogens added
Names
IUPAC name
2,2-Dimethylpropane[1]
Identifiers
463-82-1 YesY
1730722
ChEBI CHEBI:30358 YesY
ChemSpider 9646 YesY
EC Number 207-343-7
1850
Jmol 3D model Interactive image
MeSH neopentane
PubChem 10041
  • InChI=1S/C5H12/c1-5(2,3)4/h1-4H3 YesY
    Key: CRSOQBOWXPBRES-UHFFFAOYSA-N YesY
  • CC(C)(C)C
Properties
C5H12
Molar mass 72.15 g·mol−1
Appearance Colorless gas
Odor Odorless
Density 586 mg mL−1[2]
Melting point −21 to −15 °C; −6 to 5 °F; 252 to 258 K
Boiling point 9.0 to 10.0 °C; 48.1 to 49.9 °F; 282.1 to 283.1 K
4.7 nmol Pa−1 kg−1
Thermochemistry
121.07–120.57 J K−1 mol−1
217 J K−1 mol−1
−168.5–−167.3 kJ mol−1
−3.51506–−3.51314 MJ mol−1
Vapor pressure {{{value}}}
Related compounds
Related alkanes
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
YesY verify (what is YesYN ?)
Infobox references

Neopentane, also called 2,2-dimethylpropane, is a double-branched-chain alkane with five carbon atoms. Neopentane is an extremely flammable gas at room temperature and pressure which can condense into a highly volatile liquid on a cold day, in an ice bath, or when compressed to a higher pressure.

Neopentane is the simplest alkane with a quaternary carbon. It is one of the three structural isomers with the molecular formula C5H12 (pentanes), the other two being n-pentane and isopentane.

Nomenclature

IUPAC nomenclature retains the trivial name neopentane.[3][4] The systematic name is 2,2-dimethylpropane, but the substituent numbers are superfluous because it is the only possible "dimethylpropane."

File:Neopentyl-group-2D-skeletal.png
A neopentyl group attached to a generic group R.

A neopentyl substituent, often symbolized by "Np", has the structure Me3C-CH2- for instance neopentyl alcohol (Me3CCH2OH or NpOH). As Np also symbolises the element neptunium (atomic number 93) one should use this abbreviation with care.

Physical properties

Boiling and melting points

The boiling point of neopentane is only 9.5 °C, significantly lower than those of isopentane (27.7 °C) and normal pentane (36.0 °C). Therefore, neopentane is a gas at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, while the other two isomers are (barely) liquids.

The melting point of neopentane (-16.6 °C), on the other hand, is 140 degrees higher than that of isopentane (-159.9 °C) and 110 degrees higher than that of n-pentane (-129.8 °C). This anomaly has been attributed to the better solid-state packing assumed to be possible with the tetrahedral neopentane molecule; but this explanation has been challenged on account of it having a lower density than the other two isomers. Moreover, its enthalpy of fusion is lower than the enthalpies of fusion of both n-pentane and isopentane, thus indicating that its high melting point is due to an entropy effect. Indeed, the entropy of fusion of neopentane is about 4 times lower than that of n-pentane and isopentane.[2]

NMR spectrum

Because of neopentane's full tetrahedral symmetry, all protons are chemically equivalent, leading to a single NMR chemical shift δ = 0.902 when dissolved in carbon tetrachloride.[5] In this respect, neopentane is similar to its silane analog, tetramethylsilane, whose single chemical shift is zero by convention.

The symmetry of the neopentane molecule can be broken if some hydrogen atoms are replaced by deuterium atoms. In particular, if each methyl group has a different number of substituted atoms (0, 1, 2, and 3), one obtains a chiral molecule. The chirality in this case arises solely by the mass distribution of its nuclei, while the electron distribution is still essentially achiral.[6]

References

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  2. 2.0 2.1 James Wei (1999), Molecular Symmetry, Rotational Entropy, and Elevated Melting Points. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., volume 38 issue 12, pp. 5019–5027 doi:10.1021/ie990588m
  3. Table 19(a) Acyclic and monocyclic hydrocarbons. Parent hydrocarbons
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  5. Spectral Database for Organic Compounds, Proton NMR spectrum of neopentane, accessed 19 Nov 2006.
  6. Nature. 2007 Mar 29. Absolute configuration of chirally deuterated neopentane. Haesler Jacques, Schindelholz Ivan, Riguet Emmanuel, Bochet Christian G, Hug Werner.

External links