File:Benzene_Structural_diagram.svg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons
aromatic hydrocarbon
Sign in to saveAlso known as arene, arenes
hydrocarbon with alternating double and single bonds between carbon atoms forming rings
An aromatic hydrocarbon is a type of carbon-based compound where carbon atoms are arranged in a ring with alternating double and single bonds between them. These compounds are important because their special structure makes them chemically stable and gives them unique properties that are useful in fuels, plastics, medicines, and many other everyday products.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- aromatic compound
- Has part
- hydrogen
Show 3 more facts
- different from
- Areni
- Commons category
- Aromatic hydrocarbons
- topic's main category
- Category:Aromatic hydrocarbons
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~21 min read
Encyclopedic overview
2D model of a benzene molecule. The carbon atoms joined into a "ring" with conjugated double-bonds defines benzene as "aromatic". Aromatic compounds or arenes are organic compounds "with a chemistry typified by benzene" and "cyclically conjugated." The word "aromatic" originates from the past grouping of molecules based on odor, before their general chemical properties were understood. The current definition of aromatic compounds does not have any relation to their odor. Aromatic compounds are now defined as cyclic compounds satisfying Hückel's rule. Aromatic compounds have the following general properties:
Typically unreactive
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “aromatic hydrocarbon” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.