(Phys.org)—A team of chemists at the University of California has developed a cheaper way to functionalize unactivated alkanes (hydrocarbons such as ethane, methane and propane) by using much more ...

The latest short science news items from C&EN. The researchers trigger the reaction with violet light. First, there is an electron transfer from an oxidant, a N-alkoxyphthalimide ester, to the ...

Carbon-hydrogen bond activation took a big step forward in 2000 when John F. Hartwig and coworkers reported an organometallic catalyst capable of directly converting normally unreactive alkanes into ...

The chemical term alkanes, or paraffins, refers to organic compounds that consist of single-bonded carbon and hydrogen atoms, such as methane, ethane, and propane, and several other hydrocarbons. Over ...