Pentane

Pentane 

an acyclic saturated hydrocarbon with the empirical formula C₅H₁₂. Pentane occurs in three isomeric forms: n-pentane, CH₃(CH₂)₃CH₃ (boiling point 36.07°C, melting point -129.72°C, density 0.6260 gm/cm³ at 20°C), of isopen-tane, (CH₃)₂CHCH₂CH₃ (boiling point 27.85°C, melting point -159.7°C, density 0.6197 gm/cm³ at 20°C, and neopentane, (CH₃)₄C (boiling point 9.50°C, melting point - 16.55”C, density 0.5910°C gm/cm³ at 20°C).

Pentanes are isolated from the condensates of natural gas, from petroleum, from the light fractions of shale oil, and from hydrocarbons that are synthesized from synthesis gas, a mixture of CO and H₂. Heating in the presence of HF, AlCl₃, or an aluminum-platinum catalyst converts n-pentane into isopentane, the raw material from which isoprene is obtained. Pentanes are constituents of motor fuels and the starting materials in many petrochemical processes and basic organic synthesis.