What is the Difference Between Heptane and Normal Heptane? What you need to know when buying Normal Heptane and Heptane?
The key difference between Heptane and Normal Heptane is that Heptane is an organic compound having seven carbon atoms arranged in either branched or non-branched structures, whereas Normal Heptane is the non-branched structure of the Heptane molecule.
The chemical formula of Heptane is C7H16. It is mainly useful as a nonpolar solvent. Heptane can dissolve many organic compounds, and it can also act as an extracting solvent.
Also known as normal Heptane, Normal Heptane is a pure form of Heptane and the unbranched structure of the Heptane molecule. It’s a colorless, flammable liquid with a 98.4 degrees boiling point. It’s almost insoluble in water but slightly soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform. Normal Heptane is the purest form of Heptane.
What is Heptane?
Heptane compound containing seven carbon atoms bound to each other, forming an alkane. It also contains 16 hydrogen atoms. All these atoms form C-H bonds with carbon atoms. Hence, there are C-C bonds and C-H bonds in this compound.
The chemical formula of Heptane is C7H16. The molar mass of this substance is 100.2 g/mol. It appears as a colourless liquid at room temperature and pressure. Moreover, Heptane has a petrolic odour. It is mainly useful as a nonpolar solvent. Heptane can dissolve many organic compounds and can also act as an extracting solvent.
Heptane can exist in many isomeric forms. This solvent has a major application in distinguishing aqueous bromine from aqueous iodine through the extraction of aqueous bromine into Heptane. Usually, both bromine and iodine appear in a brown colour. But when dissolved in Heptane solvent, iodine gets a purple colour while bromine remains in brown colour.
On a commercial scale, Heptane is available as a mixture of isomers that is used in paints and coatings. It is useful in rubber cement productions such as “Bestine” production, “Power fuel” (an outdoor stove fuel), etc.
What is Normal Heptane?
Normal Heptane is the non-branched structure of the Heptane molecule. The following image shows the chemical structure of Normal Heptane.
There are many isomers and enantiomers of the Heptane molecule because there are seven carbon atoms in this molecule that can arrange in different forms making branched structures and chiral centers. For example, IsoHeptane, NeoHeptane, 3-Methylhexane, etc. What are enantiomers? Enantiomers are a pair of molecules that exist in two forms that are mirror images of one another but cannot be superimposed one upon the other. Enantiomers are in every other respect chemically identical. Enantiomers are in every other respect chemically identical. A pair of enantiomers is distinguished by the direction in which when dissolved in solution they rotate polarized light, either dextro (d or +) or levo (l or -) rotatory; hence the term optical isomers. When two enantiomers are present in equal proportions they are collectively referred to as a racemic mixture, a mixture that does not rotate polarized light because the optical activity of each enantiomer is cancelled by the other.
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What is the Relationship Between Heptane and Normal Heptane?
Generally, we use the term Heptane to refer to all the different isomers of 7-carbon alkane molecule. The chemical structure of the Heptane molecule can differ in various ways depending on the atomic connectivity and branches. If there is a straight chain of 7 carbon atoms without any substitution or any branches attached to the carbon chain (simply, a straight carbon chain of 7 carbon atoms, each carbon bonded to hydrogen atoms to form a saturated molecule), we call it Normal Heptane or Normal Heptane.
What is the Difference Between Heptane and Normal Heptane?
The chemical formula of Heptane is C7H16. It is mainly useful as a nonpolar solvent. Heptane can dissolve many organic compounds and can act as an extracting solvent. The key difference between Heptane and Normal Heptane is that Heptane is an organic compound having seven carbon atoms arranged in either branched or non-branched structures, whereas Normal Heptane is the non-branched structure of Heptane molecule. Moreover, the properties of Heptane can vary depending on the chemical structure, whereas Normal Heptane is a nonpolar, colourless liquid having a petrolic odour.
The following table summarizes the difference between Heptane and Normal Heptane.
Summary – Heptane vs Normal Heptane
The chemical formula of Heptane is C7H16. It is mainly useful as a nonpolar solvent. Heptane can dissolve many organic compounds, and also it can act as an extracting solvent. The key difference between Heptane and Normal Heptane is that Heptane is an organic compound having seven carbon atoms arranged in either branched or non-branched structures, whereas Normal Heptane is the non-branched structure of the Heptane molecule.
Need more information on the difference between Heptane and n-Heptane?
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Reference:
1.”Heptane, Properties, Chemical Reactions.”Sciencealpha, 29 Oct. 2020.
Image Courtesy:
1.”Heptane 3D ball” By Jynto (talk) – Own work – Created with Discovery Studio Visualizer (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “HeptaneFull” By Walkerma – Own work (CC0) via Commons Wikimedia