alkene

Any of a group of unsaturated hydrocarbons that have carbon atoms in chains linked by one or more double bonds and that have the general formula C n H 2n . Lighter alkenes, such as ethylene, are derived from petroleum by cracking.

Also called olefin

◆ The group of alkenes as a whole is called the alkene series or the ethylene series. Its first five members are ethylene (or ethene), propylene (or propene), butylene (or butene), pentene, and hexene.