catenane

English

Etymology

From Latin catena (“a chain”).

Noun

catenane (plural catenanes)

1. (organic chemistry) Any compound, especially a hydrocarbon, having two or more rings interconnected like the links of a chain, without a covalent bond.

Usage notes

• The number of rings in the compound is shown by preceding the name with a number in square brackets e.g. [3]catenane.

Derived terms

• hemicatenane
• polycatenane
• pseudocatenane

See also

• catena compound