4.

2 NOMENCLATURE OF ALKENES 131

PROBLEM
4.1 Which of the following alkenes can exist as double-bond stereo? Identify the stereocenters in
each.
(a) H2C A CHCH2CH2CH3 (b) CH3CH2CH A CHCH2CH3
1-pentene 3-hexene

(c) H2C A CH L CH A CH L CH3

"
(d) CH3CH2CH A CCH3 (e)

B
1,3-pentadiene CH3
cyclobutene
2-methyl-2-pentene
(Hint for part (e): Try to build a model of both stereoisomers, but dont break your models!)

4.2 NOMENCLATURE OF ALKENES

A. IUPAC Substitutive Nomenclature

The IUPAC substitutive nomenclature of alkenes is derived by modifying alkane nomencla-
ture in a simple way. An unbranched alkene is named by replacing the ane suffix in the name
of the corresponding alkane with the ending ene and specifying the location of the double
bond with a number. The carbons are numbered from one end of the chain to the other so that
the double bond receives the lowest number. The carbons of the double bond are numbered
consecutively.

H2C A CH L CH2CH2CH2CH3
1 2 3 4 5 6
1-hexene
hexane + ene = hexene
position of double bond

The IUPAC recognizes an exception to this rule for the name of the simplest alkene,
H2CA CH2, which is usually called ethylene rather than ethene. (Chemical Abstracts
(Sec. 2.4D, p. 66), however, uses the substitutive name ethene.)
The names of alkenes with branched chains are, like those of alkanes, derived from their
principal chains. In an alkene, the principal chain is defined as the carbon chain containing
the greatest number of double bonds, even if this is not the longest chain. If more than one can-
didate for the principal chain have equal numbers of double bonds, the principal chain is the
longest of these. The principal chain is numbered from the end that results in the lowest num-
bers for the carbons of the double bonds.
When the alkene contains an alkyl substituent, the position of the double bond, not the po-
sition of the branch, determines the numbering of the chain. This is the main difference in the
nomenclature of alkenes and alkanes. However, the position of the double bond is cited in the
name after the name of the alkyl group. Study Problem 4.2 shows how these principles are im-
plemented.

Study Problem 4.2

Name the following compound using IUPAC substitutive nomenclature.

H2C A C L CH2CH2CH3
"
CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3
132 CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCTION TO ALKENES. STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY

Solution The principal chain is the longest continuous carbon chain containing both carbons of
the double bond, as shown in color in the following structure. Note in this case that the principal
chain is not the longest carbon chain in the molecule. The principal chain is numbered from the
end that gives the double bond the lowest numberin this case, 1. The substituent group is a
propyl group. Hence, the name of the compound is 2-propyl-1-heptene:

position of the substituent group

position of the double bond
incorrect numbering 7 6

H2C A C L CH2CH2CH3
correct numbering 1 2

"
2-propyl-1-heptene

CH2CH2CH2CH2CH3 principal chain (longest chain

3 4 5 6 7 containing the double bond;
5 4 3 2 1
double bond receives the lowest number)

If a compound contains more than one double bond, the ane ending of the corresponding
alkane is replaced by adiene (if there are two double bonds), atriene (if there are three double
bonds), and so on.
H2C A CHCH2CH2CH A CH2
1,5-hexadiene

Study Problem 4.3

Name the following compound:
CH2 L CH A CH2
"
CH3CH2CH2CH2 L C A C L CH3
"
CH3

Solution The principal chain (color in the following structure) is the chain containing the
greatest number of double bonds. One possible numbering scheme (red) gives the first-
encountered carbons of the two double bonds the numbers 1 and 4, respectively; the other possi-
ble numbering scheme (blue) gives the first-encountered carbons of the double bonds the numbers
2 and 5, respectively. We compare the two possible numbering schemes pairwisethat is, (1,4)
versus (2,5). The lowest number at first point of difference (1 versus 2) determines the correct
numbering. The compound is a 1,4-hexadiene, with a butyl branch at carbon-4, and a methyl
branch at carbon-5:
4 5 6 incorrect numbering
CH2 L CH A CH2
3 2 1 correct numbering

"
principal chain

CH3CH2CH2CH2 L C A C L CH3 4-butyl-5-methyl-1,4-hexadiene

4 5 6
3 2 1
number of double bonds
CH3
positions of double bonds
positions of substituents

If the name remains ambiguous after determining the correct numbers for the double bonds,
then the principal chain is numbered so that the lowest numbers are given to the branches at the
first point of difference.
 4.2 NOMENCLATURE OF ALKENES 133

Study Problem 4.4

Name the following compound:

"
CH3
%CH3
y

Solution Two ways of numbering this compound give the double bond the numbers 1 and 2.

6" 3"
CH3 CH3
1% CH3 2% CH3
y y
5 4

4 2 5 1
3 6

possible names: 1,6-dimethylcyclohexene 2,3-dimethylcyclohexene

(correct) (incorrect)

In this situation, choose the numbering scheme that gives the lowest number for the methyl
substituents at the first point of difference. In comparing the substituent numbering schemes
(1,6) with (2,3), the first point of difference occurs at the first number (1 versus 2). The (1,6)
numbering scheme is correct because 1 is lower than 2. Notice that the number 1 for the
double bond is not given explicitly in the name, because this is the only possible number. That is,
when a double bond in a ring receives numerical priority, its carbons must be numbered consecu-
tively with the numbers 1 and 2. Thats why the following numbering scheme is incorrect. One
carbon of the double bond has the number 1, but the other is not numbered consecutively.

2"
CH3

%
1 CH3

y
3

4 6
5

1,2-dimethylcyclohexene
(incorrect because carbons of double bond
are not numbered consecutively)

Substituent groups may also contain double bonds. Some widely occurring groups of this
type have special names that must be learned:
H2C A CH L H2C A CH L CH2 L H2C A C L
"
vinyl allyl CH3
isopropenyl

Other substituent groups are numbered from the point of attachment to the principal chain.
2

lL CH A CH2 jL CH2 L CH A CH L CH3

1 1 2

3-vinylcyclohexene 1-(2-butenyl)cyclohexene

position of double bond within

the substituent
position of the substituent group
on the principal chain
134 CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCTION TO ALKENES. STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY

The names of these groups, like the names of ordinary alkyl groups, are constructed from the

alkene and replacing it with yl. Thus, the substituent in the second example above is butene +
name of the parent hydrocarbon by dropping the final e from the name of the corresponding

yl = butenyl. Notice the use of parentheses to set off the names of substituents with internal
numbering.
Finally, some alkenes have nonsystematic traditional names that are recognized by the
IUPAC. These can be learned as they are encountered. Two examples are styrene and isoprene:
Ph L CH A CH2 H2C A C L CH A CH2
"
styrene CH3
isoprene

(Recall from Sec. 2.9B, p. 82, that Ph L refers to the phenyl group, a singly substituted ben-
zene ring.)

More Recent IUPAC Nomenclature Recommendations

The nomenclature in this text is based on the widely used 1979 IUPAC rules. In1993, the IUPAC rec-
ommended an alteration in nomenclature that places the number of the double bond just before
the ene suffix of the name.Thus, in the new system, 1-hexene is named hex-1-ene, and 2,4-hexadiene
is named hexa-2,4-diene. This new system is being used by some chemists and not by others. While
the system is logical, its general adoption would require chemical indexing systems either to recog-
nize both old and new names or to cross-reference between them. Because Chemical Abstracts has
not adopted the new system, we wont use it in this text. However, conversion between old and new
names is a simple matter of moving the numerical designation.

PROBLEMS
4.2 Give the structure for each of the following:
(a) 4-methyl-1,3-hexadiene (b) 2-methylpropene (c) 1-isopropenylcyclopentene
(d) 5-(3-pentenyl)-1,3,6,8-decatetraene
4.3 Name the following compounds.
(a) CH3 (b) CH3CH2CHA CHCH2CH2CH3
L
L

CH3
(c) H3C L CH A CH L CH2 L CH L CH A CH L CH2 L CH3
"
CH2 L CH A CH2

B. Nomenclature of Double-Bond Stereoisomers: The E,Z System

The cis and trans designations for double-bond stereoisomers are unambiguous when each
carbon of a double bond has a single hydrogen, as in cis- and trans-2-butene. However, in
some important situations, the use of the terms cis and trans is ambiguous. For example, is the
following compound, a stereoisomer of 3-methyl-2-pentene, the cis- or the trans-stereoisomer?

$ )
H3C C2H5

) $
CAC
H CH3
 4.2 NOMENCLATURE OF ALKENES 135

One person might decide that this compound is trans, because the two identical groups are on
opposite sides of the double bond. Another might decide that it is cis, because the larger
groups are on the same side of the double bond. Exactly this sort of ambiguityand the use
of both conventions simultaneously in the chemical literaturebrought about the adoption of
an unambiguous system for the nomenclature of stereoisomers. This system, first published in
1951, is part of a general system for the nomenclature of stereoisomers called the CahnIn-
goldPrelog system after its inventors, Robert S. Cahn (18991981), then editor of the Jour-
nal of the Chemical Society, the most prestigious British chemistry journal; Sir Christopher K.
Ingold (18931970), a professor at University College, London, whose work played a very
important part in the development of modern organic chemistry; and Vladimir Prelog
(19061998), a professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, who received the 1975
Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in organic stereochemistry. When we apply the
CahnIngoldPrelog system to alkene double-bond stereochemistry, well refer to it simply as
the E,Z system for reasons that will be immediately apparent.
The E,Z system involves assignment of relative priorities to the two groups on each carbon
of the double bond according to a set of sequence rules given in the steps to be described below.
We then compare the relative locations of these groups on each alkene carbon. If the groups of
higher priority are on the same side of the double bond, the compound is said to have the Z con-
figuration (Z from the German word zusammen, meaning together). If the groups of higher
priority are on opposite sides of the double bond, the compound is said to have the E configu-
ration (E from the German entgegen, meaning across).

$ ) $ )
high priority high priority high priority low priority

) $ ) $
CAC CAC
low priority low priority low priority high priority
(Z) (E)

For a compound with more than one double bond, the configuration of each double bond is
specified separately.
To assign relative priorities, proceed through each of the following steps in order until a de-
cision is reached. Study Problems 4.5 and 4.6 illustrate the use of these steps.
Step 1 Examine the atoms directly attached to a given carbon of the double bond, and then fol-
low the first rule that applies.
Rule 1a Assign higher priority to the group containing the atom of higher atomic number.
Rule 1b Assign higher priority to the group containing the isotope of higher atomic mass.
Step 2 If the atoms directly attached to the double bond are the same, then, working outward
from the double bond, consider within each group the set of attached atoms. Youll have
two setsone for each group on the double bond.
Rule 2 Arrange the attached atoms within each set in descending priority order, and make a
pairwise comparison of the atoms in the two sets. The higher priority is assigned to the atom of
higher atomic number (or atomic mass in the case of isotopes) at the first point of difference.
Step 3 If the sets of attached atoms are identical, move away from the double bond within each
group to the next atom following the path of highest priority, and identify new sets of at-
tached atoms. Then apply rule 2 to these new sets. Keep following this step until a deci-
sion is reached. Remember that a priority decision must be made at the first point of dif-
ference.
136 CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCTION TO ALKENES. STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY

Study Problem 4.5

What is the configuration of the following stereoisomer of 3-methyl-2-pentene? (The numbers
and letters are for reference in the solution.)

$CH3
2 3 m

$
H3C

$C A C
$
H CH2CH3
e

Solution First, consider the relative priorities of the groups attached to carbon-2. Applying rule
1a, the two atoms directly attached to carbon-2 are C and H. Because C has a higher atomic num-
ber (6) than H (1), the CH3 group is assigned the higher priority. Now consider the groups at-
tached to carbon-3. Step 1 leads to no decision, because in both groups the atom directly attached
to the double bond is the samea carbon m in the case of the methyl group, and a carbon e in the
case of the ethyl group. Following step 2, represent the atoms attached to these carbons as a set in
descending priority order. For carbon e, the set is (C,H,H); notice that the carbon of the double
bond is not included in the set. For carbon m, the set is (H,H,H). Now make a pairwise compari-
son of (C,H,H) with (H,H,H). The first point of difference occurs at the comparison of the first
atoms of each set, C and H. Because C has higher priority, the group containing this atomthe
ethyl groupalso has higher priority. The priority pattern is therefore
2 3

$CH3
$
higher priority group H3C lower priority group

$C A C
at carbon-2 at carbon-3
$
lower priority group H CH2CH3 higher priority group
at carbon 2 at carbon-3

Because groups of like priority are on opposite sides of the double bond, this alkene is the E iso-
mer; its complete name is (E)-3-methyl-2-pentene.

Study Problem 4.6

Name the following alkene. (The numbers and letters are for reference in the solution.)
2 3 a1

$CH2CH2CH2CH3
a2

$
H

$C A C
$b1 b2
"
H3C CH2CHCH3

CH3

Solution At carbon-2, the methyl group has higher priority, by rule 1a. At carbon-3, rule 1a
allows no decision, because atoms a1 and b1 are identicalboth are carbons. Proceeding to step
2, the set of atoms attached to either carbons a1 or b1 can be represented as (C,H,H); again, no
decision is possible. Step 3 says that we must now consider the next atoms in each chain along the
path of highest priority. We therefore move to the next carbon atom (a2 and b2) rather than the
hydrogen in each chain, because carbon has higher priority than hydrogen. The set of atoms
attached to a2 is (C,H,H); the set attached to b2 is (C,C,H). Notice that carbons a1 and b1
considered in the previous step are not considered as members of these sets, because we always
work outward, away from the double bond, by step 2. The difference in the second atoms of each
setC versus Hdictates a decision. Because the set of atoms at carbon b2 has higher priority,
 4.2 NOMENCLATURE OF ALKENES 137

the group containing carbon b2 (the isobutyl group) also has the higher priority. The process used
can be summarized as follows:
(C,H,H) (C,H,H)

CH2 L CH2CH3
$
H CH2

$C A C a decision is made here

H3C CH2 CH(CH3)2

(C,H,H) (C,C,H)

Because the groups of like priority are on the same side of the double bond, this alkene has the Z
configuration.
2 3

$CH2CH2CH2CH3
$
group of lower priority H group of lower priority

$C A C
at carbon-2 at carbon-3
$
"
group of higher priority H3C CH2CHCH3 group of higher priority
at carbon-2 at carbon-3
CH3

Application of the nomenclature rules completes the name: (Z)-3-isobutyl-2-heptene.

Sometimes the groups to which we must assign priorities themselves contain double bonds.
Double bonds are treated by a special convention, in which the double bond is rewritten as a
single bond and the atoms at each end of the double bond are duplicated:
L CH A CH2 is treated as L CH L CH2 and L CH A O is treated as L CH L O
" " " "
C C O C
Notice that the duplicated atoms bear only one bond. (The developers of this scheme preferred to
say that each of these duplicated carbons bears three phantom (that is, imaginary) atoms of pri-
ority zero.) The treatment of triple bonds requires triplicating the atoms involved:

" " " "

C C N C
L C ' CH is treated as L C L CH and L C ' N is treated as L C L N
" " " "
C C N C

Study Problem 4.7

Give the IUPAC name of the following compounds, including the (E,Z) designation for the dou-
ble-bond stereochemistry. (The carbon numbers are for reference in the solution.)
(a) (CH3)2CH CH3 (b) (CH3)2CH CH3
3 4
C C H3C C C
H2C CH H C C H
1 2
H H

Solution (a) First, give the name without the stereochemistry. By the principles discussed previ-
ously, the name is 3-isopropyl-1,3-pentadiene. Now we assign stereochemistry. Carbons 1 and 2
are not stereocenters, but carbons 3 and 4 are. At carbon-4, the methyl group receives higher pri-
138 CHAPTER 4 INTRODUCTION TO ALKENES. STRUCTURE AND REACTIVITY

ority than H. The real issue here is the relative priorities of the groups at carbon-3. We represent
the two groups as follows:
C(C,C,H) C(C,H,H) C(C,C,H)
H3C
b a
CH H2C CH H2C CH
a
H3C b
b
C C
C(H,H,H)
C(0,0,0)
isopropyl group
vinyl group

(The symbol means implies.) Notice that the carbons of the double bond are duplicated;
the colors show the relationship of the replicated carbons to the original ones. The (0,0,0) next to
the duplicated carbons represents the phantom atoms attached to these carbonsthat is, imagi-
nary atoms of priority zero. We compare carbon a of the isopropyl group with carbon a of the
vinyl group. The attached groups are the same: (C,H,H). In the isopropyl group, we proceed out-
ward to either of the methyl groups. In the vinyl group, we could proceed to carbon b or to its du-
plicated image, carbon b. We must choose the path of higher priority before we compare the re-
sult with the isopropyl group. Choosing the path of higher priority requires going out one more
atom beyond carbons b and bin other words, comparing (C,H,H) for Cb with (0,0,0) for Cb.
Because the carbon atom attached to carbon b has a higher priority than a phantom atom on car-
bon b, carbon b represents the path of higher priority for vinyl. Now we are ready to compare the
vinyl and isopropyl groups again. For isopropyl, carbon b is C(H,H,H), and for vinyl, carbon b is
C(C,H,H). Because C has a higher priority than H, vinyl receives the higher priority. The name is
therefore (E)-3-isopropyl-1,3-pentadiene.
You should be able to work part (b) using the same tactics. Try it. The name is (2E,4Z)-3-iso-
propyl-2,4-pentadiene. (Notice that the position of the isopropyl group determines the numbering
of the double bonds, which is ambiguous otherwise.) Notice also that when two or more double
bonds require a stereochemical designation, the number of the double bond is included with the
E or Z.

PROBLEMS
4.4 Name each of the following compounds, including the proper designation of the double-bond
stereochemistry:

$ ) $ )
(a) H2C A CHCH2 CH3 (b) (CH3)2CH CH3

) $ ) $
CAC CAC
(CH3)2CHCH2 H CH3CH2CH2 H
4.5 Give the structure of:
STUDY GUIDE LINK 4.2
Drawing Structures (a) (E)-4-allyl-1,5-octadiene (b) (2E,7Z)-5-[(E)-1-propenyl]-2,7-nonadiene
from Names Be sure to read Study Guide Link 4.2 if you have difficulty with this problem.
4.6 In each case, which group receives the higher priority?

$ $ $
(a) CH3CH2 (b) (c) (CH3)3C (d) (CH3)3C

$CH $ ! !
) )
CA CA
)
CA ! H3C L CH
"
HC ' C
!
CH3O
CA H2C A CH
$
Cl2HC
OCH3
$CH
HO