Butyl is a hydrocarbon radical derived from butane, with four types of butyl-based combinations depending on the isomer used. Butyls are used in various commercial products, including plastics and medical treatments, and are derived from petroleum. Tert-butyl has a special property used in chemistry to balance kinetic energy. Butane is used to form butyl and is usually shopped for as natural gas.
Butyl is a hydrocarbon radical derived from one of the two isomers of butane. Taking away one of the hydrogen atoms in butane does this, but the type of butyl created depends on which isomer of butane is being used. There are four types of butyl-based combinations, and as isomers, they are all composed of the same elements in the same amount, but their skeletal arrangement is different. This is used to create many different commercial compounds, such as flavoring agents and insect repellents, and are mostly created from petroleum.
The compound known as butyl does not exist in nature, but is derived from butane. Butane has a chemical composition of four carbon atoms and 10 hydrogen atoms, and one of those hydrogen atoms must be removed to create the radical. There are two isomers of butane, called n-butane and iso-butane. Depending on the butane used, one of four radical isomers can be created.
If n-butane is used, it will create nbutyl or secbutyl. If iso-butane is used, the chemist will get isobutyl or tert-butyl. As isomers, all of these versions of butyl contain the same amount of atoms, but have drastically different skeletons, meaning they will bond differently with other compounds and atoms, producing divergent results.
Butyls are often mixed with other elements to obtain commercial products and are one of the most used radicals in this market. Nbutyl is used to make artificial leather, perfume and even insect repellent. Secbutyl is mainly used in mushroom retardants. Isobutyl is mainly used in the medical field to treat hypoglycemia or low blood sugar levels. Tert-butyl is often found with plastics, as a light absorber for the plastic wrap; it is also used to slow down the polymerization needed for some plastics and rubbers.
In addition to being used in plastics, tert-butyl has a special property that is frequently used in chemistry. Tert-butyl is a bulky compound and, as such, can be used to balance kinetic energy in other compounds. For example, if a compound can give two different products and the chemist wants to create the second one, which takes longer to activate because it needs more energy, then tert-butyl will be used. This will force the first product, which would naturally form, to require more energy and allow the second product to synthesize from the combination.
Butane is needed to form butyl, so the radical is formed from petroleum. There are several gases in petroleum and butane is one of the lightest. This means that butane is usually used, as well as shopped for, as natural gas.
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