Cubane

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 molecule. Cubane is a solid crystalline substance. The cubane molecule was first synthesized in 1964 by Dr. Philip Eaton, a professor of chemistry at the University of Chicago. Before its synthesis, researchers believed that cubic carbon-based molecules could only exist in theory. It was believed that cubane would be impossible to synthesize because the unusually sharp 90-degree bonding angle of the carbon atoms would be too highly strained and hence unstable.

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 store a great deal of energy in these bonds, which in principle may make them useful as high-density, high-energy fuels and explosives. In fact, a cubane-derived explosive may someday surpass octogen as the most powerful standard grade military explosive. Researchers are looking into using cubane and similarly synthesized cubic molecules in medicine and nanotechnology.

See also

• Octanitrocubane (explosive)
• dodecahedrane