The alkynes are aliphatic hydrocarbons in which one of the carbon to carbon bonds is a triple bond (triple covalent bond). The alkynes are considered to be unsaturated hydrocarbons because the triple bond could be broken allowing for the addition of more hydrogens.
By now you should know what the prefix “ALK” stands for. The suffix “-YNE” refers to the presence of at least one triple bond between the carbons.
The characteristic type of reaction for the alkynes is addition since it would be possible to add across the triple bond when combining with another substance.
Just like the other classes, this one has several alternate names:
Acetylene Series.
Ethyne Series.
All the members of the alkynes have a molecular formula that may be determined by the general molecular formula of the class: CnH2n-2.
Naming Alkynes
Naming this class follows very similar rules to that of the alkenes. I will not cover them in detail during the lecture. As with any of the classes we have discussed so far, pay particular attention to the suffixes. –ENE, -ANE, -YNE all mean different things and this is where you will get into trouble if you are not careful.