unsatuˈration Chem.
[un-1 12.]
The condition of a compound, esp. an organic one, of having one or more multiple bonds in its molecule. Cf. saturation 3 a.
| 1885 I. Remsen Org. Chem. 209 The condition of unsaturation is met with among carbon compounds in several forms. 1932 I. D. Garard Introd. Org. Chem. v. 59 The cause, or explanation, of the unsaturation is not the same in all instances. 1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Org. Chem. vii. 115 Chemical reagents attack the site of unsaturation but this occurs less readily than in the case of the related olefins. 1975 Sci. Amer. Mar. 78/3 The greater the unsaturation in a fat or a wax, that is, the greater the number of double bonds, the more likely it is that the substance will be liquid at low temperatures. |