butadiene

butadiene (byūt'ədī'ēn) , colorless, gaseous hydrocarbon. There are two structural isomers of butadiene; they differ in the location of the two carbon-carbon double bonds in the butadiene molecule. One (1,2-butadiene) has the formula CH₂:C:CHCH₃. The other (1,3-butadiene), often called simply butadiene, has the formula CH₂:CHCH:CH₂; it is used in the manufacture of synthetic rubber, latex paints, and nylon and is obtained chiefly by dehydrogenation of butane and butene obtained by cracking petroleum. Chloroprene and isoprene are the 2-chloro- and 2-methyl-derivatives of 1,3-butadiene; they also are used in the synthesis of rubber.