unˈsaturate Chem.
[un-1 12.]
Any unsaturated compound, esp. an unsaturated fat or fatty acid. Cf. polyunsaturate n. s.v. polyunsaturated a.
| 1934 World Petroleum Apr. 123/2 Whereas straight run fuel contained less than two percent unsaturates, cracked gasoline contained from 10 to 40 percent unsaturated compounds. 1959 Logan & Maggiolo in E. S. Pattison Industr. Fatty Acids v. 41 These unsaturates can be cleaved to produce monobasic and dibasic acids and their derivatives. 1974 Radiation Res. LIX. 109 When these substances undergo moderately rapid reaction the surface temperature of the unsaturate is considerably higher than 77°K. |