Bromine water is an orange solution of bromine. It becomes colourless when it is shaken with an alkene. Alkenes can decolourise bromine water, but alkanes cannot. The slideshow shows this process.

This reaction proceeds at room temperature and does not require sunlight or UV radiation to initiate it. The rapid disappearance of the amber color of the bromine at room temperature is characteristic ...

The general formula for the alkanes is C n H 2n+2 (where n is the number of carbon atoms in the molecule). The table shows four alkanes, their molecular formulae, displayed formulae and structural ...

An unsolved challenge in catalysis is the efficient and selective functionalization of simple alkanes and plentiful hydrocarbon feedstocks. One promising approach since the late 1990’s is the use of ...