Alpha-olefins are a family of organic compound

Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...

s which are olefins or alkenes with a chemical formula

Chemical formula

A chemical formula or molecular formula is a way of expressing information about the atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound....

 C

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

_xH

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is the chemical element with atomic number 1. It is represented by the symbol H. With an average atomic weight of , hydrogen is the lightest and most abundant chemical element, constituting roughly 75% of the Universe's chemical elemental mass. Stars in the main sequence are mainly...

_2x, distinguished by having a double bond

Double bond

A double bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two chemical elements involving four bonding electrons instead of the usual two. The most common double bond, that between two carbon atoms, can be found in alkenes. Many types of double bonds between two different elements exist, for example in...

 at the primary or alpha (α) position. This location of a double bond enhances the reactivity of the compound and makes it useful for a number of applications.

There are two types of alpha-olefins, branched and linear

Linear alpha olefin

Linear Alpha Olefins or Normal Alpha Olefins are olefins or alkenes with a chemical formula CxH2x, distinguished from other mono-olefins with a similar molecular formula by linearity of the hydrocarbon chain and the position of the double bond at the primary or alpha position.Linear alpha olefins...

 (or normal). The chemical properties of branched alpha-olefins with a branch at either the second (vinylidene) or the third carbon

Carbon

Carbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...

number are significantly different from the properties of linear alpha-olefins and those with branches on the fourth carbon number and further from the start of the chain.