As nouns the difference between heteroatom and hydrocarbon
is that heteroatom is any atom in a heterocyclic ring (or other structure normally built of carbon atoms) that is not a carbon atom while hydrocarbon is a compound consisting only of carbon and hydrogen atoms.
heteroatom
English
Noun
(
en noun)
(chemistry) Any atom in a heterocyclic ring (or other structure normally built of carbon atoms) that is not a carbon atom.
Related terms
*heterocycle
*homoatom
hydrocarbon
Noun
(
en noun)
(organic chemistry) A compound consisting only of carbon and hydrogen atoms.
Derived terms
* fluorochlorohydrocarbon
* hydrocarbonaceous
* hydrocarbonic
Hyponyms
* alkane
* alkene
* alkyne
* cycloalkane
* cycloalkene
* arene
See also
* aliphatic
* aromatic
* petroleum