Methylene
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In chemistry, methylene is di-valent functional group CH2 derived formally from methane. The name "methylene" is used for two types of groups:
- -CH2- group (bound by two single bonds) present e.g. in dichloromethane (alternative name is methylene chloride)
- =CH2 group (bound by one double bond), present e.g. in formaldehyde (can be named methylene oxide, but it is not used/recommended). The better example is methylenecyclopropene.
Methylene is also a name for
- unstable electrically neutral species :CH2, the simplest carbene.