Name: Baldonado, Lesley Joy T.

Date: October 15, 2021

REACTIONS OF ALKENES
Instructions:
Watch the following video materials posted and list down the reactions of alkenes.
Supplement with your readings the other reactions of alkenes not included in these materials. Give
also a balanced chemical equation on each set of reactions.

 HYDRATION
With the presence of small amount of an acid, the reaction does occur with a water
molecule added to the double bond of alkene, and the product is an alcohol. This is the
acid-catalyzed addition reaction of water to alkene (also called hydration).

ethylene + water ethanol

C2H4 + H2O C2H5OH
2–C–2
6–H–6
1–O–1

 HYDROGENATION
Addition of H2 to the C=C bond occurs when an alkene is exposed to an atmosphere
of hydrogen gas in the presence of a metal catalyst to yield an alkane. For most alkene
hydrogenations, either palladium metal or platinum (as PtO2) is used as the catalyst.

ethene + hydrogen ethane

C2H4 + H2 C2H6
2–C–2
6–H–6

 HALOGENATION
Alkenes are easily converted by halogens to alkyl halides where two halogen atoms
are attached to two carbons at adjacent positions. The reaction is relatively easily carried
out at room temperature and does not require light. Two reactants are mixed in an inert
solvent such as carbon tetrachloride.

ethene + bromine 1,2‐dibromoethane

C2H4 + Br2 C2H4Br2
2–C–2
4–H–4
2 – Br – 2
 HYDROHALOGENATION
The hydrohalogenation of alkenes involves breaking a carbon to carbon double
bond, followed by the electrophilic addition of a hydrogen atom and halogen. The halide
will add to the more substituted carbon following Markovnikov's rule. The product is a
haloalkane also called an alkyl halide.

ethylene + hydrogen chloride chloroethane

C2H4 + HCl C2H5Cl
2–C–2
5–H–5
1 – Cl – 1

 OXIDATION- the addition of oxygen to alkenes.

ethylene + oxygen ethylene oxide
C2H4 + O2 C2H4O
BALANCED FORMULA:
2C2H4 + O2 2C2H4O
4–C–4
8–H–8
2–O–2

 POLYMERIZATION
A process by which an organic compound reacts with itself to form a high‐
molecular‐weight compound composed of repeating units of the original compound.
ethylene polyethylene
C2H4 (C2H4)n