Generally distinct types of unsaturated organic compounds are recognized. For hydrocarbons: •
alkene (unsaturated) vs alkane (saturated) •
alkyne (unsaturated) vs alkane (saturated) •
arene (unsaturated) vs cycloalkane (saturated) For organic compounds containing heteroatoms (other than C and H), the list of unsaturated groups is long but some common types are: •
carbonyl, e.g.
ketones,
aldehydes,
esters,
carboxylic acids (unsaturated) vs alcohol or
ether (saturated) •
nitrile (unsaturated) vs
amine (saturated) •
nitro (unsaturated) vs amine (saturated) Unsaturated compounds generally carry out typical addition reactions that are not possible with saturated compounds such as alkanes. A saturated organic compound has only single bonds between carbon atoms. An important class of saturated compounds are the
alkanes. Many saturated compounds have functional groups, e.g.,
alcohols.
Unsaturated organic compounds The concept of saturation can be described using various naming systems,
formulas, and
analytical tests. For instance,
IUPAC nomenclature is a system of naming conventions used to describe the type and location of unsaturation within organic compounds. The "
degree of unsaturation" is a
formula used to summarize and diagram the amount of hydrogen that a compound can bind. Unsaturation can be determined by
NMR,
mass spectrometry, and
IR spectroscopy, or by determining a compound's
bromine number or
iodine number.
Fatty acids and fats The terms saturated vs unsaturated are often applied to the
fatty acid constituents of
fats. The
triglycerides (fats) that comprise
tallow are derived from the saturated
stearic and monounsaturated
oleic acids. Many
vegetable oils contain fatty acids with one (
monounsaturated) or more (
polyunsaturated) double bonds in them. ==Saturated and unsaturated compounds beyond organic chemistry==