Is CH2 an alkyl group?

2 Answers
Al E.
Apr 19, 2018

Alone?

It's generally called a carbene, which is very reactive with alkenes, forming cyclopropane.

In a molecule? I would call it a (1) methylene.

puu.sh

Simon Moore
Apr 19, 2018

Simply put: no, it isn't.

Explanation:

An alkyl group is generally understood to be a stable substituent functional group, in other words, something that is attached to the carbon backbone of an organic species.

#CH_2# is either part of the carbon backbone (not something attached to it), i.e. #-CH_2-#, or (as the other poster commented) it could be in the form of a carbene, which is a highly reactive intermediate with two unshared valance electrons (#:CH_2#).

So in neither case would the term "alkyl group" apply.

Related questions
See all questions in Naming Functional Groups
Impact of this question
9247 views around the world
You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License