Guanidine
Encyclopedia : G : GU : GUA : Guanidine
Guanidine is a crystalline compound of strong alkalinity formed by the oxidation of guanine. It is used in the manufacture of plastics and explosives. It is found in urine as a normal product of protein metabolism. With a pKa of 12.5, guanidine is protonated, with a charge of +1 in physiological conditions.
| Guanidine (protonated form shown) | |
|---|---|
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| Chemical name | Guanidine |
| Chemical formula | CNH(NH2)2 |
| Molecular mass | 59.0706 g/mol |
| CAS number | 1729-17-5 |
| Density | x.xxx g/cm3 |
| Melting point | 50 °C |
| Boiling point | xx.x °C |
| SMILES | C(=N)(N)N |
| [Chemical infoboxDisclaimer and references] | |
Guanidine Hydrochloride has chaotropic properties and is used to denature proteins. Empirically, guanidine hydrochloride is known to denature proteins with a linear relationship between concentration and free energy of unfolding.
Guanidines are a group of organic compounds sharing a common functional group with the general structure (R1R2N)(R3R4N)C=N-R5. The central bond within this group is that of an imine; the other recognizable motif within this group is an aminal. An example of a guanidine is triazabicyclodecene.
Guanidine is currently being considered as an alternative fuel. In the presence of a catalyst, a mole of free-base guanidine combines with 2 moles of water to form 3 moles of ammonia and 1 mole of carbon dioxide. The ammonia can be used directly as a fuel for internal combustion engines, or decomposed into nitrogen and hydrogen gas for use in fuel cells. The guanidine could be supplied as a fuel in solid form as pure guanidine (melting point ~ 50 C) or as a lower melting point eutectic mixture with urea. Guanidine could also be supplied as solutions in ethanol, as a replacement for the gasoline component in E85 fuel.
External links
- For a full list of external links to MSDSs, spectroscopic data, commercial chemicals suppliers etc. for this compound, see [Chemical sources].
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