Ethylene

An alkene, C2H4, 28.054 g/mol. Boiling point -103.8 °C, melting point -169.18 °C, as published. Appears in 1 documented reaction.

verified recordOrganic — alkene7 measured properties1 documented reactions

Identifiers

Molecular formula: C₂H₄
Molecular weight: 28.054 g/mol
Exact mass: 28.0313 g/mol
IUPAC name: ethene
SMILES: C=C
InChI: InChI=1S/C2H4/c1-2/h1-2H2
InChIKey: VGGSQFUCUMXWEO-UHFFFAOYSA-N

Open in ReactionLens Use in reaction prediction

Measured properties

Published measurements, each with its source. Two readings of one property are both shown, in the units each used.

Boiling Point: -154.7 °F at 760 mmHg (USCG, 1999)measured · CAMEO Chemicals; -103.8 °Cmeasured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Melting Point: -272.4 °F (USCG, 1999)measured · CAMEO Chemicals; -169.18 °Cmeasured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Density: 0.569 at -154.84 °F (USCG, 1999) - Less dense than water; will floatmeasured · CAMEO Chemicals; Density: 50.5678 g/cu cm at -104 °Cmeasured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Solubility: In water, 131 mg/L at 25 °Cmeasured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); Slightly soluble in watermeasured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
Vapor Pressure: Vapor pressure 4,040 kPa (-1.5 °C)measured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); 5.21X10+4 mm Hg at 25 °C /Extrapolated/measured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB)
LogP: log Kow = 1.13measured · Hazardous Substances Data Bank (HSDB); 1.13measured · Human Metabolome Database (HMDB)
Flash Point: -213 °F (approx.) (USCG, 1999)measured · CAMEO Chemicals; -213 °Fmeasured · Haz-Map, Information on Hazardous Chemicals and Occupational Diseases

Calculated properties

Derived from the structure, not from a sample; kept apart from the measurements above.

Molecular weight: 28.05 g/molcalculated · reference compound database; Average mass of one molecule, from reference compound database.
Exact mass: 28.0313001276 Dacalculated · reference compound database; Mass of the most common isotopic form.
XLogP3: 1.2calculated · reference compound database; Estimated oil/water partition, computed by reference compound database.
Polar surface area: 0 Å²calculated · reference compound database; Polar surface area as computed by reference compound database.
Complexity: 0calculated · reference compound database; A rough measure of how intricate the structure is.
H-bond donors: 0calculated · reference compound database
H-bond acceptors: 0calculated · reference compound database
logP: 0.8022calculated · chemistry engine; Estimated preference for oil over water. Higher means more oil-like.
Topological polar surface area: 0 Å²calculated · chemistry engine; Surface area from polar atoms; relates to how easily a molecule crosses membranes.
H-bond donors: 0calculated · chemistry engine; Atoms that can donate a hydrogen bond.
H-bond acceptors: 0calculated · chemistry engine; Atoms that can accept a hydrogen bond.
Rotatable bonds: 0calculated · chemistry engine; Single bonds the molecule can freely twist around.
Molar refractivity: 11.254 cm³/molcalculated · chemistry engine; Relates to the molecule's polarisability.
Fraction sp³ carbons: 0calculated · chemistry engine; Share of carbon atoms with tetrahedral bonding.
QED drug-likeness: 0.3445calculated · chemistry engine; Quantitative estimate of drug-likeness (0–1).

What it is made of

Elements

C Carbon2 atoms · 85.6% by mass
H Hydrogen4 atoms · 14.4% by mass

Percentages are of the molecular weight above, worked out the same way the molar mass calculator does it.

Structure

Heavy atoms, hydrogen excluded: 2
Total atoms, hydrogen included: 6
Rings: 0
Aromatic rings: 0
Stereocentres: 0
Formal charge: 0

Functional groups

Alkene
A carbon–carbon double bond.

Matched by structural pattern, not by a measurement.

The molecule in three dimensions

Rotate and inspect the atoms. Loaded only when you ask, so the page stays light.

The drawing above is a diagram of what is bonded to what. A molecule is not flat, and the model here is one low-energy shape generated from the connectivity — useful for seeing which groups can reach each other, and not a measured structure. A real sample is a population of conformations, interconverting.

Reactions it appears in

1 documented reaction involves Ethylene, each with a written procedure and a source, and all of them are addition. A few are shown.

Hydration of ethene to ethanol

Addition · as a reactant

A recorded experiment with its conditions, its yield where one was published, and a link to the source.

All 1 addition records

Other names for it

The systematic name on this record is ethene.

The sources also call it Ethene, Acetene, Elayl, Olefiant gas, Athylen, Etileno, Liquid ethylene, Bicarburretted hydrogen.

Structurally related

Nothing structurally close to Ethylene has a page here yet.

Seen alongside it in reaction records

Molecules that appear in the same recorded reactions as Ethylene. This says nothing about structure: most of them are the bases, solvents, ligands and catalysts the chemistry needed, and they are here because somebody put them in the same flask.

1,2-Dibromoethane

used as a reactant

C₂H₄Br₂, 187.862 g/mol.

(+-)-(R/S)-2-tert-Butoxycarbonylamino-3-(4-iodo-phenyl)-propionic acid methyl ester

used as a reactant

C₁₅H₂₀INO₄, 405.232 g/mol.

Where these values came from

reference compound database6325
compound record
chemistry engine
structure perception

compound record.

What this page does not claim

Identifiers are copied from the source record, measured values are reported as published, and calculated values are marked as calculated. Nothing here is a hazard, purity or handling assessment — how the library is checked.