What is the difference between aliphatic and aromatic compounds?

Question

What is the difference between aliphatic and aromatic compounds?

1 Answer

Impact of this question

3766 views around the world

You can reuse this answer
Creative Commons License

Answer 1 · 2016-10-31T06:19:14

Well, an aromatic compound has $4 degrees of unsaturation$ $"4 degrees of unsaturation"$ ....What does this mean?

Explanation:

A saturated, unsubstituted hydrocarbon has a formula of $C_{n} H_{2 n + 2}$ $C_nH_(2n+2)$ . Alkanes are said to be $saturated$ $"saturated"$ . Try this out with methane, ethane, propane, etc. Each double bond, or ring junction, reduces the hydrogen count by 2, and so introduces $1 degree of unsaturation$ $"1 degree of unsaturation"$ . $Cyclohexane$ $"Cyclohexane"$ or $hexene$ $"hexene"$ thus have formulae of $C_{6} H_{12}$ $C_6H_12$ .

Aromatic compounds generally feature the benzene ring, which imposes $4 degrees of unsaturation$ $"4 degrees of unsaturation"$ ; i.e. consider the benzene molecule, $C_{6} H_{6}$ $C_6H_6$ , where hexane would by $C_{6} H_{14}$ $C_6H_14$ . The extra electron density on the aromatic ring (the six delocalized $π$ $pi$ electrons) offers peculiar chemisty; distinct from the chemistry of the alkanes.

Science

Math

Humanities

... and beyond

What is the difference between aliphatic and aromatic compounds?

1 Answer

Explanation:

Related questions

Impact of this question