Hexene is a higher olefin, or alkene

Alkene

In organic chemistry, an alkene, olefin, or olefine is an unsaturated chemical compound containing at least one carbon-to-carbon double bond...

 with a formula 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...

₆H

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...

₁₂. The "Hex" is derived from the fact that there are 6 carbon atoms in the molecule, while the "ene" suffix denotes that two carbon atoms are connected via a double bond. There are several isomer

Isomer

In chemistry, isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural formulas. Isomers do not necessarily share similar properties, unless they also have the same functional groups. There are many different classes of isomers, like stereoisomers, enantiomers, geometrical...

s of hexene, depending on the position of the 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...

 and the branching of the carbon chain. One of the most common industrially useful isomers is 1-hexene

1-Hexene

1-Hexene is an organic compound with the formula CH2CHC4H9. It is an alkene that is classified in industry as higher olefin and an alpha-olefin, the latter term meaning that the double bond is located at the alpha position, endowing the compound with higher reactivity and thus useful chemical...

, an alpha-olefin

Alpha-olefin

Alpha-olefins are a family of organic compounds which are olefins or alkenes with a chemical formula CxH2x, distinguished by having a double bond at the primary or alpha position...

. Hexene is used as a comonomer in the production of polythene.