Which is more reactive alkane or alkene & why ?
An alkene is more reactive than an alkane and here’s why: A double bond is certainly shorter and stronger than a single bond. [ C-C bond has bond energy of 347 kJ/mol vs. 611 kJ/ mol for C=C] However, a single bond consists of a sigma bond whereas a double bond is made up of 1 sigma bond and 1 pi bond. The pi bond is formed by the lateral or sideways overlap of p orbitals in contrast to the sigma bond which is formed by the axial or head on overlap of atomic or hybrid orbitals. The sigma bond is the strongest type of covalent chemical bonding. The pi bond is a comparitively weaker bond which is vulnerable to attack. There may be many reasons to this. 1.) There is less overlap between the two p orbitals forming a pi bond as compared to the overlap between orbitals forming the sigma bond. Hence, the pi bond is easy to break. 2.) The electron cloud in a pi bond is further away from the nucleus than the electron cloud of the sigma bond. The most common reactions of alkenes are addition rea
