ABSTRACT
Hydrocarbons are the simplest organic compounds consisting only of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Therearetwobasicstructures,saturated(aliphatic)andunsaturated(olešnicoraromatic)systems. Saturatedcompoundssolelycontainσ-bondswithinthecarbonskeleton,whereasunsaturated compoundsatleastcontainoneπ-bond.Theelectrochemicalreductionofsuchspeciesisexclusivelyrestrictedtoolešnicoraromaticcompounds.Thereasonisthataliphatichydrocarbonshave extremely low electron afšnities that render their reduction impossible, despite a gain of solvation energy within the stability limits of conventional solvent-electrolyte systems.
