Question
Question: How will you convert ethene to ethane?...
How will you convert ethene to ethane?
Solution
Ethene and ethane belong to the alkene and alkane groups respectively. Alkene reacts rapidly with hydrogen to form alkanes in the presence of a catalyst.
Complete step by step answer:
Alkene is an unsaturated hydrocarbon that contains a double bond.
The conversion of alkenes to alkanes involves a process known as catalytic hydrogenation. In this process, hydrogen is added to the alkene in the presence of a fine catalyst like nickel, platinum or palladium. These catalysts help in breaking the double bond of the alkene into a single bond to form alkane.This reaction is known as Catalytic hydrogenation because it involves a catalyst that is used to drive the reaction and helps to produce alkanes as a product.
In the given case, ethene (C2H4) is an alkene and thus can be converted to ethane (C2H6), an alkane, through the process of catalytic hydrogenation or addition of hydrogen which is also known as reduction process.
The reaction involved in this process is as follows:
CH2=CH2+H2NickelCH3−CH3
In the above reaction, the double bond in ethene is replaced by hydrogen and ethane is obtained as the product.
Note: The conversion of unsaturated alkene to saturated alkane should be done in the presence of a catalyst so that it can go at a reasonable rate or else it would require very high temperatures for the reaction to proceed.