Alkylation is the transfer of an
alkyl group from one
molecule to another. The alkyl group may be transferred as an alkyl
carbocation, a
free radical, a
carbanion or a
carbene (or their equivalents). An alkyl group is a piece of a molecule with the general formula C
nH
2n+1, where
n is the integer depicting the number of carbons linked together. For example, a methyl group (
n = 1, CH
3) is a fragment of a
methane molecule (CH
4).
Alkylating agents utilize selective alkylation by adding the desired aliphatic carbon chain to the previously chosen starting molecule. This is one of many known chemical syntheses. Alkyl groups can also be removed in a process known as dealkylation.