Elevated boiling points in alkanes with even number of carbons Why do alkanes with even number of carbon atoms have greater boiling points than those with odd number of carbon atoms?
There is not really any difference between the boiling points of even and odd carbon alkanes.  For single-chain alkanes the boiling point just goes up as a smooth curve versus chain length.

The melting points do show a small oscillating component with the even chains being higher.  If we imagine the chains in their idealized zig-zag configuration, which would be relatively favorable for the solid state, we find that the even-length chains have a center of inversion which makes them fit better than odd-length ones.  This effect fades, however, with increasing chain length.

Reference:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alkane