Stilbene

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A chemical compound featuring a structure with two benzene rings connected by a double bond, often used in organic synthesis and found in some natural substances
2. An organic molecule characterized by a pair of aromatic rings joined by an ethene bridge, commonly involved in molecular photochemistry and materials science
3. A substance composed of a stilbene backbone consisting of two phenyl groups linked by an alkene, notable for its applications in dyes and fluorescence studies

Etymology: Stilbene is a chemist's coinage built on an ancient Greek verb. The Greek "stílbō" meant "to shine" or "shimmer," and the name was given to the compound because of its use as a phosphor, a substance that gives off light after exposure to radiation. The chemical was named for that glow rather than for any structural feature, so the word records a property the molecule was prized for. The compound itself is a hydrocarbon made of two benzene rings joined by a pair of carbon atoms with a double bond between them. That double bond can lie in two arrangements, and the word is now sometimes used as a general label for the family of such molecules. The Greek root is the same one that gives "stilbite," a mineral whose crystals also have a glassy, lustrous shine.

Synonyms: stilbene compound, diphenylethylene