The methylium cation (CH+3) exists in the gas phase, but is otherwise not encountered. Some compounds are … See more

The reactivity of a methyl group depends on the adjacent substituents. Methyl groups can be quite unreactive. For example, in organic compounds, the methyl group resists attack by even the strongest acids.
The … See more

In the special case where one hydrogen is replaced by deuterium (D) and another hydrogen by tritium (T), the methyl substituent becomes chiral. Methods exist to produce optically pure methyl compounds… See more

A methyl group may rotate around the R−C axis. This is a free rotation only in the simplest cases like gaseous methyl chloride CH3Cl. In most molecules, the remainder R breaks the C∞ symmetry of the R−C axis and create… See more

French chemists Jean-Baptiste Dumas and Eugene Peligot, after determining methanol's chemical structure, introduced "methylene" from the Greek μέθυ (methy) "wine" and ὕλη (hȳlē) "wood, patch of trees" with the int… See more