Ketene

A ketene is an organic compound of the form R2C=C=O. Hermann Staudinger pioneered the research of ketenes. Ketene also refers to the specific compound of this class in which both Rs are hydrogen.

Properties
Methyl ketene is colourless, has a sharp odour and causes such things as eye, nose, throat, lung irritation if humans are exposed to concentrated levels. Pulmonary edema has also been noted if these levels are experienced for an extended period of time. It has a melting point of -150.5 °C (-239 °F) and a boiling point of -56.1 °C (-69 °F).

Formation

 * Ketenes can be prepared from acyl chlorides by an elimination reaction in which HCl is lost.
 * [[Image:Mecanisme-de-la-formation-des-cetenes.png|center|Formation of a ketene from an acyl chloride.]]
 * A base, usually triethylamine, removes the acidic proton alpha to the carbonyl group, inducing the formation of the carbon-carbon double bond and the loss of chloride ion.


 * Ketenes are formed in the Wolff rearrangement from α-diazoketones
 * Phenylacetic acid in the presence of base will lose water to produce phenylketene due to the high acidity of the alpha proton.

Reactions
Ketene is very reactive, tending to attach itself to other molecules in the form of an acetyl group. It will react with itself to form cyclic dimers known as diketenes (oxetanones). It will also undergo [2+2] cycloaddition reactions to electron-rich alkynes to form cyclobutenones.

Reactions between diols (HO-R-OH) and bis-ketenes (O=C=CH-R'-CH=C=O) yield polyesters with a repeat unit of (-O-R-O-CO-R'-CO-).