 cubane (c8h8) is a synthetic hydrocarbon molecule that consists of eight carbon atoms arranged at the corners of a cube, with one hydrogen atom attached to each carbon atom. a solid crystalline substance, cubane is one of the platonic hydrocarbons. it was first synthesized in 1964 by philip eaton, a professor of chemistry at the university of chicago.' 'cubaneand thomas w. cole. philip e. eaton and thomas w. cole j. am. chem. soc.; 1964; 86(15) pp 3157 - 3158; . before eaton and cole's work, researchers believed that cubic carbon-based molecules could not exist, because the unusually sharp 90-degree bonding angle of the carbon atoms was expected to be too highly strained, and hence unstable. once formed, cubane is quite kinetically stable, due to a lack of readily available decomposition paths. the other platonic hydrocarbons are dodecahedrane and tetrahedrane. cubane and its derivative compounds have many important properties. the 90-degree bonding angle of the carbon atoms in cubane means that the bonds are highly strained. therefore, cubane compounds are highly reactive, which in principle may make them useful as high-density, high-energy fuels and explosives (for example, octanitrocubane and heptanitrocubane). cubane also has the highest density of any hydrocarbon, further contributing to its ability to store large amounts of energy, which would reduce the size and weight of fuel tanks in aircraft and especial
Hydrocarbons