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Physical Properties of Alkanes

Physical Properties of Alkanes

Alkanes are nonpolar molecules due to the presence of only carbon and hydrogen atoms. The electronegativity difference between carbon and hydrogen is minimal, and hence alkanes have a zero dipole moment. This leads to the presence of only dispersion forces between the molecules. The strength of dispersion forces is dependent on the surface area of the molecules on which they act. Since the surface area increases with the molecular length for straight-chain alkanes, the dispersion forces also...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 22, 2026

High Throughput Single-cell and Multiple-cell Micro-encapsulation

High Throughput Single-cell and Multiple-cell Micro-encapsulation

Published on: June 15, 2012

Alkane lengths determine encapsulation rates and equilibria.

Wei Jiang¹, Dariush Ajami, Julius Rebek

¹Department of Chemistry, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037, United States.

Journal of the American Chemical Society

|May 3, 2012

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Encapsulation rates of alkanes in a cylindrical capsule depend on chain length, with shorter alkanes entering faster but longer alkanes being more stable. This system acts as a molecular clock, controllable by guest exchange and light.

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Area of Science:

Supramolecular Chemistry
Materials Science
Chemical Kinetics

Background:

Cylindrical capsules can encapsulate molecules, influencing their conformations.
Understanding guest-host interactions is crucial for designing functional materials.
Alkanes can adopt extended or compressed states within confined environments.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the encapsulation dynamics of straight-chain alkanes within a cylindrical capsule.
To determine the relationship between alkane chain length and encapsulation rate and complex stability.
To explore the potential of this system as a dynamic combinatorial chemistry platform and molecular clock.

Main Methods:

Examined encapsulation rates of C(9), C(10), and C(11) alkanes.
Conducted direct competition experiments (pairwise and multi-component) to assess guest displacement.
Utilized 4,4'-dimethylazobenzene as a superior guest to control the system's state via irradiation.

Main Results:

Encapsulation rates followed the order: C(9) > C(10) > C(11).
Complex stability showed the reverse order: C(11) > C(10) > C(9).
Longer alkanes sequentially displaced shorter ones in competition experiments.
The system demonstrated self-sorting and dynamic combinatorial behavior, functioning as a molecular clock.
The clock could be reversibly stopped and restarted using 4,4'-dimethylazobenzene and light.

Conclusions:

Alkane encapsulation in cylindrical capsules is length-dependent, impacting both uptake rates and complex stability.
The observed phenomena of guest displacement and temporal evolution establish a controllable molecular clock.
This system offers a novel platform for dynamic combinatorial chemistry and molecular sensing applications.