Triptane
Triptane, or 2,2,3-trimethylbutane, is an organic chemical compound with the molecular formula C7H16 or (H3C-)3C-C(-CH3)2H. It is therefore an alkane, specifically the most compact and heavily branched of the heptane isomers, the only one with a butane (C4) backbone.
It was first synthesized in 1922 by Belgian chemists Georges Chavanne (1875–1941) and B. Lejeune, who called it trimethylisopropylmethane.
Due to its high octane rating (112–113 RON, 101 MON) triptane was produced on alkylation units starting from 1943 for use as an anti-knock additive in gasoline. It was extensively researched for this role and received the modern name in the late 1930s at a joint laboratory of NACA, National Bureau of Standards, US Army Air Corps and the Bureau of Aeronautics.
As of 2011, it was not a significant component of US automobile gasoline, present only in trace amounts (0.05–0.1%).