Icosane is an alkane

Alkane

Alkanes are chemical compounds that consist only of hydrogen and carbon atoms and are bonded exclusively by single bonds without any cycles...

 with the chemical formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 C₂₀H₄₂. It has 366,319 constitutional isomers.

Icosane has little use in the petrochemical

Petrochemical

Petrochemicals are chemical products derived from petroleum. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sources such as corn or sugar cane....

 industry, as its high flash point

Flash point

The flash point of a volatile material is the lowest temperature at which it can vaporize to form an ignitable mixture in air. Measuring a flash point requires an ignition source...

 makes it an inefficient fuel. Due to its chemical inactivity, n-icosane (the straight-chain structural isomer

Isomer

In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...

 of icosane) is part of the paraffin

Paraffin

In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...

 group, and is the shortest molecule in the compounds

Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...

 used to form candles.

Icosane's size, state or chemical inactivity does not exclude it from the traits its smaller alkane counterparts have. It is a colorless, less dense than water, non-polar molecule

Molecule

A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...

, nearly non-reactive unless combusted, and insoluble in water. Its non-polar trait means it can only perform weak intermolecular bonding (hydrophobic/van der Waals force

Van der Waals force

In physical chemistry, the van der Waals force , named after Dutch scientist Johannes Diderik van der Waals, is the sum of the attractive or repulsive forces between molecules other than those due to covalent bonds or to the electrostatic interaction of ions with one another or with neutral...

s).

Icosane's phase transition at a moderate temperature makes it a candidate phase change material

Phase Change Material

A phase-change material is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy...

, or PCM which can be used to store thermal energy and control temperature.

Naming

IUPAC currently recommends icosane, whereas Chemical Abstracts Service

Chemical Abstracts Service

Chemical Abstracts is a periodical index that provides summaries and indexes of disclosures in recently published scientific documents. Approximately 8,000 journals, technical reports, dissertations, conference proceedings, and new books, in any of 50 languages, are monitored yearly, as are patent...

 and Beilstein

Beilstein

Beilstein may refer to:*places in Germany:**Beilstein, Württemberg, in Baden-Württemberg**Beilstein, Rhineland-Palatinate, in Rhineland-Palatinate**Beilstein, Hessen*a 2270-metre mountain of the Hochschwab Plateau, Northern Limestone Alps, Styria...

use eicosane.

External links

• Icosane at Dr. Duke's Phytochemical and Ethnobotanical Databases