Question

How many antibonding orbitals are there in Benzene?

Answer 1

There are three antibonding orbitals in benzene.

The six atomic p orbitals combine to form six molecular `π` orbitals.

The three lowest orbitals `π_1`, `π_2`, and `π_3` are bonding orbitals. The six `π` electrons occupy these orbitals.

The remaining orbitals `π_4^✳`, `π_5^✳`, and `π_6^✳` are antibonding orbitals. In the ground state of benzene, these orbitals are not occupied.