Britannica AI Icon

Quick Summary

An alkylidene is a bivalent aliphatic radical derived from an alkane by removing two hydrogen atoms from the same carbon atom. For example, ethylidene is an alkylidene.1

Alkenes, which contain a carbon-carbon double bond, and alkynes, with a carbon-carbon triple bond, are types of unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbons. These multiple bonds are considered functional groups in organic chemistry, representing sites of high reactivity. The presence of these multiple bonds allows alkenes and alkynes to undergo addition reactions, unlike alkanes which only have single bonds and are considered saturated.2345

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.