Isoprene

1 definition found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Isoprene \I"so*prene\, n. [Etymol. uncertain.] (Chem.)
     An oily, volatile unsaturated hydrocarbon ({C5H8}), obtained
     by the distillation of caoutchouc or gutta-percha, and used
     to make synthetic rubber by polymerization. In organic
     chemistry, it is viewed conceptually as the building block of
     the terpene series of hydrocarbons.


     [1913 Webster +PJC]