Chemistry:Syntin

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Syntin
Names
Preferred IUPAC name
21-Methyl-11,21:22,31-tercyclopropane
Other names
1-Methyl-1,2-dicyclopropylcyclopropane; Sintin; Synthin; Tsycklin; Tsiklin
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
Properties
C10H16
Molar mass 136.238 g·mol−1
Density 0.851 g/mL
Boiling point 158 °C (316 °F; 431 K)
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Syntin is a hydrocarbon with the molecular formula C10H16 used as a rocket fuel. It is a mixture of four stereoisomers (see below). It has a density of 0.851 g/mL, and a boiling point of 158 °C. Due to the presence of three strained cyclopropane rings, the molecule has a highly positive enthalpy of formation: ΔfH°(l)= 133 kJ/mol (980 kJ/kg, the average value for the isomeric mixture),[1] bringing additional energy into the combustion process. It has advantages over the traditional hydrocarbon fuels, such as RP-1, due to higher density, lower viscosity and higher specific heat of oxidation.

Syntin was used in the Soviet Union and later Russia as fuel for the Soyuz-U2 rocket from 1982 until 1995.[2][3]

It was first synthesized in the USSR in 1959[1] and brought to mass production in the 1970s. It was prepared in a multi-step synthetic process from easily obtained acetylcyclopropane (the 3rd molecule):

Syntin synthesis 01
Syntin synthesis 01

After dissolution of the USSR, the production of this fuel was halted due to the expense of the synthesis. On September 3, 1995, Soyuz TM-22, the seventy-first and last Soyuz-U2 rocket launched, being the last rocket fueled with Syntin.[3]

Stereoisomers

Syntin has two stereocenters at the central cyclopropane ring. Thus, four stereoisomers exist:

Four Syntin Stereoisomers
Four Syntin Stereoisomers

In practice, syntin is used as a racemic mixture (a mixture where all stereoisomers are present in equal amounts).

See also

References

Literature

  • A. P. Mesheheryakov, V. G. Glukhovtsev, A. D. Petrov, “Synthesis of 1-methyl-1,2-dicyclopropylcyclopropane”, Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR, 1960, 130, 779-81.
  • Yu. P. Semenov, B. A. Sokolov, S. P. Chernykh, A. A. Grigor'ev, O. M. Nefedov, N. N. Istomin, G. M. Shirshov, “Multiple strained-ring alkane as high-performance liquid rocket fuel”, RU 2233385, C2 20040727.
  • T. Edwards, “Liquid Fuels and Propellants for Aerospace Propulsion: 1903-2003”, Journal of Propulsion and Power, 2003, 19(6), 1089-1107.
  • V. Azov, D. Vorontsov, "The last battle of hydrocarbons?", Novosti Kosmonavtiki, 2008, 18, No. 2 (301), 44-46.