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Triptane

Triptane, or 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C 7 H 16 or (H 3 C-) 3 C-C(-CH 3 ) 2 H. It is therefore an alkane, specifically the most compact and heavily branched of the heptane isomers, the only one with a butane (C 4 ) backbone. It was first synthesized in 1922 by Belgian chemists Georges Chavanne (1875–1941) and B. Lejeune, who called it trimethylisopropylmethane. Due to its high octane rating (112–113 RON, 101 MON ) triptane was produced on alkylation units starting from 1943 for use as an anti-knock additive in gasoline. It was extensively researched for this role and received the modern name in the late 1930s at a joint laboratory of NACA, National Bureau of Standards, US Army Air Corps and the Bureau of Aeronautics. As of 2011, it was not a significant component of US automobile gasoline, present only in trace amounts (0.05–0.1%).

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Article summary

Triptane, or 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C 7 H 16 or (H 3 C-) 3 C-C(-CH 3 ) 2 H. It is therefore an alkane, specifically the most compact and heavily branched of the heptane isomers, the only one with a butane (C 4 ) backbone. It was first synthesized in 1922 by Belgian chemists Georges Chavanne (1875–1941) and B. Lejeune, who called it trimethylisopropylmethane. Due to its high octane rating (112–113 RON, 101 MON ) triptane was produced on alkylation units starting from 1943 for use as an anti-knock additive in gasoline. It was extensively researched for this role and received the modern name in the late 1930s at a joint laboratory of NACA, National Bureau of Standards, US Army Air Corps and the Bureau of Aeronautics. As of 2011, it was not a significant component of US automobile gasoline, present only in trace amounts (0.05–0.1%).

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