Methylcyclopentane

Methylcyclopentane is an organic compound with the chemical formula CH3C5H9. It is a colourless, flammable liquid with a faint odor. It is a component of the naphthene fraction of petroleum. It usually is obtained as a mixture with cyclohexane. It is mainly converted in naphthene reformers to benzene. The C6 core of methylcyclopentane is not perfectly planar and can pucker to alleviate stress in its structure.


 * MeC5H9toPhH.png is a classic aromatization reaction, specifically a dehydroisomerization. This platinum (Pt)-catalyzed process is practiced on scale in the production of gasoline from petroleum.]]

History
In 1895, Nikolai Kischner discovered that methylcyclopentane was the reaction product of hydrogenation of benzene using hydriodic acid. Prior to that, several chemists (such as Marcellin Berthelot in 1867, and Adolf von Baeyer in 1870 ) had tried and failed to synthesize cyclohexane using this method.