HETAV PATEL

Grade 11,

Proof for Huckles law (4n+2) (determining aromaticity)

Proof for Huckles law (4n+2) (determining aromaticity)

Grade:12

1 Answers

Aman Bansal
592 Points
11 years ago

Dear Varun,

Four Criteria for Aromaticity

When deciding if a compound is aromatic, go through the following checklist. If the compound does not meet all the following criteria, it is likely not aromatic.

  1. The molecule is cyclic (a ring of atoms)
  2. The molecule is planar (all atoms in the molecule lie in the same plane)
  3. The molecule is fully conjugated (p orbitals at every atom in the ring)
  4. The molecule has 4n+2 π electrons (n=0 or any positive integer)

Why 4n+2 π Electrons?

According to Hückel''s Molecular Orbital Theory, a compound is particularly stable if all of its bonding molecular orbitals are filled with paired electrons. This is true of aromatic compounds, meaning they are quite stable. With aromatic compounds, 2 electrons fill the lowest energy molecular orbital, and 4 electrons fill each subsequent energy level (the number of subsequent energy levels is denoted by n), leaving all bonding orbitals filled and no anti-bonding orbitals occupied. This gives a total of 4n+2 π electrons. You can see how this works with the molecular orbital diagram for the aromatic compound, benzene, below. Benzene has 6 π electrons. Its first 2 π electrons fill the lowest energy orbital, and it has 4 π electrons remaining. These 4 fill in the orbitals of the succeeding energy level. Notice how all of its bonding orbitals are filled, but none of the anti-bonding orbitals have any electrons.

benzene MO (3).jpg

Cracking IIT just got more exciting,It s not just all about getting assistance from IITians, alongside Target Achievement and Rewards play an important role. ASKIITIANS has it all for you, wherein you get assistance only from IITians for your preparation and win by answering queries in the discussion forums. Reward points 5 + 15 for all those who upload their pic and download the ASKIITIANS Toolbar, just a simple  to download the toolbar….

So start the brain storming…. become a leader with Elite Expert League ASKIITIANS

Thanks

Aman Bansal

Askiitian Expert

Think You Can Provide A Better Answer ?

ASK QUESTION

Get your questions answered by the expert for free