Hexane Properties

Description

Hexane is a hydrocarbon, that is, an alkane with six carbon atoms. Hexanes are significant constituents of gasoline. They are widely used as cheap, relatively safe, largely unreactive, and easily evaporated non-polar solvents. In industry, hexanes are used in the formulation of glues for shoes, leather products, and roofing. They are also used to extract cooking oils from seeds, for cleansing and degreasing all sorts of items, and in textile manufacturing. A typical laboratory use of hexanes is to extract oil and grease contaminants from water and soil for analysis. Since hexane cannot be easily deprotonated, it is used in the laboratory for reactions that involve very strong bases, such as the preparation of Grignard reagents.