What is "pentane"

Pentane \Pen"tane\, n. [See Penta-.] (Chem.) Any one of the three metameric hydrocarbons, C5H12, of the methane or paraffin series. They are colorless, volatile liquids, two of which occur in petroleum. So called because of the five carbon atoms in the molecule.

n. (context organic compound English) An aliphatic hydrocarbon of chemical formula C₅H₁₂; either of the three isomers n-pentane, methyl-butane (isopentane), and di-methyl-propane (neopentane); volatile liquids under normal conditions.

Pentane is an organic compound with the formula CH — that is, an alkane with five carbon atoms. The term may refer to any of three structural isomers, or to a mixture of them: in the IUPAC nomenclature, however, pentane means exclusively the n-pentane isomer; the other two are called isopentane (methylbutane) and neopentane (dimethylpropane). Cyclopentane is not an isomer of pentane because it has only 10 hydrogen atoms where pentane has 12.

Pentanes are components of some fuels and are employed as specialty solvents in the laboratory. Their properties are very similar to those of butanes and hexanes.

This page provides supplementary chemical data on n-pentane.