Chapter 8.3 - Benzene

Question 1

Who founded benzene and when?

Answer 1

In 1825 Michael Faraday isolated the hydrocarbon named benzene

Question 2

Who founded the ring structure of benzene?

Answer 2

August Kekule in 1865 proposed the ring structure with alternate carbon atoms joined by double bonds.

Question 3

What is the structure of benzene?

Answer 3

Benzene is a hydrocarbon with a chemical formula of C6H6

• consists of 6-SIDED CARBON RING
• 6 UNFIXED ELECTRONS making up double bond
• there are DELOCALISED electron which CAN MOVE THROUGHOUT the RING
• Carbon-to-Carbon bonds are all the SAME LENGTH, INTERMEDIATE BETWEEN A SINGLE AND DOUBLE C-C bond
• molecule is more STABLE than expected of an unsaturated molecule

Question 4

Where can benzene be found in real life?

Answer 4

1. One of the components of petrol
2. Once widely used as a solvent but was carcinogenic
3. Polystyrene, phenol and benzoic acid are examples of the many commercial products that are manufactured from reactions involving Benzene.

Question 5

What are aromatic hydrocarbons?

Answer 5

Molecules such as benzene

• represented as contains alternating single and double bonds
• they have sweet pleasant odour

The term ‘arenes’ is often used for aromatic hydrocarbons