Introduction by Prof. Henk Hiemstra (Volume Editor):

Alkanes are the fundamental molecules of organic chemistry, consisting solely of carbon and hydrogen atoms with all carbon atoms connected exclusively via single bonds. Despite this strict delineation the structural variety among alkanes is enormous.

The first part of this volume (Section 48.1) is devoted to the synthesis of acyclic alkanes. The synthetic procedures discussed here lead to saturated, open-chain alkane moieties. In the sections following, synthetic procedures are described that lead to cyclic alkanes, with a further division into cyclopropanes (Section 48.2), cyclobutanes (Section 48.3), and all other cycloalkanes (Section 48.4). This latter subdivision is dictated by the very special character of the small cycloalkanes, where ring strain plays a prominent role. The synthetic methods discussed mainly deal with ring formation and procedures that are typical for (small) ring compounds. The final part of this volume (Section 48.5) is reserved for the synthesis of saturated hydrocarbon polymers.

• Detailed table of contents (pdf).
• List of authors.