Why is benzene more stable than expected?
All the carbons in benzene are sp2 hybridised. The carbons are each bonded to one hydrogen and all bonds to other carbon atoms in the ring are the same length. This bond is in between the bond length of a C=C and C-C bond. This is because there is a system of p orbitals that can overlap to form a delocalised system of electrons above and below the plane of carbon atoms. This system leads to the benzene ring being more stable than expected.
Related Chemistry A Level answers
All answers ▸Discuss the reactivity benzene, chlorobenzene, toluene and phenol in electrophillic aromatic substitution
Describe the key properties that rely upon metallic bonding and explain this.
Why does the solubility of Group 2 hydroxides in water increase down the group?
Name and draw the mechanism where bromoethane reacts with NaOH to form ethanol.