Dicarbon monoxide () is a molecule that contains two carbon atoms and one oxygen atom. It is a linear molecule which, because of its simplicity, is of interest in a variety of areas. It is, however, so extremely reactive that it is not encountered in everyday life. It is a carbene, an allene, and an oxocarbon.
Occurrence Dicarbon monoxide is a product of the photolysis of carbon suboxide:
It is stable enough to observe reactions with NO and .
Called ketenylidene in organometallic chemistry, it is a ligand observed in metal carbonyl clusters, e.g. (a modified methylidynetricobaltnonacarbonyl). Ketenylidenes are proposed as intermediates in the chain growth mechanism of the Fischer–Tropsch process, which converts carbon monoxide and hydrogen into hydrocarbon fuels.
The organophosphorus compound (triphenylphosphoranylidene)ketene (CAS# 15596-07-3) contains one functional group. Sometimes called Bestmann ylide, it is a yellow solid.
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