What does dehydrogenation mean?
Dehydrogenation is the chemical process of removing hydrogen from a substance, most often in the form of hydrogen gas. In organic chemistry, the process commonly converts a saturated compound into an unsaturated one, such as turning an alcohol into an aldehyde or ketone, or an alkane into an alkene. It is a major reaction in industrial chemistry, where catalysts and controlled temperatures or pressures help produce valuable fuels and chemical feedstocks. The term also has broader technical uses in biochemistry and materials science. Dehydrogenation is closely associated with oxidation because hydrogen removal can increase the compound's oxidation state. Its principal opposite is hydrogenation, in which hydrogen is added to a compound. The word is especially useful for understanding reactions in which hydrogen is removed, a change that can create double bonds or prepare a molecule for further chemical transformation.
nounDehydrogenation is the chemical process of removing hydrogen from a compound, usually by eliminating hydrogen gas and forming a more unsaturated or oxidized product. It is especially important in organic chemistry and industrial catalysis.
- The chemical process of removing hydrogen from a compound, commonly as hydrogen gas, often to form an unsaturated or more highly oxidized compound.
"The dehydrogenation of alcohols produces aldehydes or ketones in an important class of industrial reactions."
"Catalytic dehydrogenation is used to convert liquid alkanes into hydrogen and gaseous alkenes."
"The researchers studied the dehydrogenation of a series of alcohols under carefully controlled conditions."
The plural is grammatically correct but uncommon; discussions of the same process more often use the uncountable singular.
"The study compared several dehydrogenations of complex alcohols."
Dehydrogenation is the chemical opposite of hydrogenation: one strips hydrogen away, while the other adds it back.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does dehydrogenation come from?
Dehydrogenation is formed from the prefix de-, meaning removal or reversal, together with hydrogen and the suffix -ation, which forms a noun naming a process. The element name hydrogen combines the Greek roots for water and generate, reflecting its role in forming water when combined with oxygen. Related English terms include hydrogenation, hydride, and hydroxyl, all belonging to the same hydrogen and water-root vocabulary. The word developed alongside the nineteenth-century growth of systematic organic chemistry.
Related word forms
How dehydrogenation is actually used
Dehydrogenation is primarily a formal term used in chemistry, chemical engineering, and related technical fields. In organic chemistry, it often describes the removal of hydrogen atoms from adjacent carbon atoms, creating a double bond.
Easily confused with dehydrogenation
Hydrogenation adds hydrogen to a compound, whereas dehydrogenation removes hydrogen from it.
Dehydration removes water or the elements of water from a substance, while dehydrogenation specifically removes hydrogen.