Quaternary carbon
A carbon atom bound to four other carbon atoms / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A quaternary carbon is a carbon atom bound to four other carbon atoms.[1] For this reason, quaternary carbon atoms are found only in hydrocarbons having at least five carbon atoms. Quaternary carbon atoms can occur in branched alkanes, but not in linear alkanes.[2]
primary carbon | secondary carbon | tertiary carbon | quaternary carbon | |
General structure (R = Organyl group) |
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Partial Structural formula |
quaternary carbon |
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Structural formula of neopentane (quaternary carbon is highlighted red) |