noun
- Plural of ethene; unsaturated hydrocarbons containing a carbon-carbon double bond, with the general formula CₙH₂ₙ.
Usage: chemistry; also called alkenes
Examples
- Ethenes are important building blocks in organic chemistry and industrial synthesis.
- The simplest ethene is ethylene, which has two carbon atoms and four hydrogen atoms.
- Ethenes undergo addition reactions because of their reactive double bonds.
- Many plastics are made from ethenes through polymerization processes.
- In the lab, students learned to identify ethenes using bromine water tests.