aromatic
(adjective)
Having a closed ring of alternate single and double bonds with delocalized electrons.
Examples of aromatic in the following topics:
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Reactions of Aromatic Compounds
- An example of an aromatic substitution reaction is shown below.
- In a nucleophilic aromatic substitution reaction, a nucleophile displaces a substituent on an aromatic ring.
- In an electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction, a substituent on an aromatic ring is displaced by an electrophile.
- These reactions include aromatic nitration, aromatic halogenation, aromatic sulfonation, and Friedel-Crafts acylations and alkylations.
- Example of an aromatic substitution reaction.
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Properties of Aromatic Compounds
- Aromatic compounds are ring structures with delocalized $\pi$ electron density that imparts unusual stability.
- Aromatic compounds, originally named because of their fragrant properties, are unsaturated hydrocarbon ring structures that exhibit special properties, including unusual stability, due to their aromaticity.
- Aromatic compounds are generally nonpolar and immiscible with water.
- This stability is lost in electrophilic addition because the product is not aromatic.
- Aromatic compounds are produced from a variety of sources, including petroleum and coal tar.
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Naming Aromatic Compounds
- Aromatic compounds are named based on the number and type of substituents on the ring.
- There are a number of historically common names for aromatic structures.
- If the substituent contains more than six carbons, the alkane portion is named first, and the aromatic ring portion is added as a suffix.
- For instance, an aromatic ring bonded to an 8-carbon chain would be 1-phenyloctane, and not octylbenzene.
- Recognize the methods for naming aromatic compounds, including IUPAC nomenclature and historical names
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Electrophilic Substitution of the Phenol Aromatic Ring
- The facility with which the aromatic ring of phenols and phenol ethers undergoes electrophilic substitution has been noted.
- Carbon dioxide is a weak electrophile and normally does not react with aromatic compounds; however, the negative charge concentration on the phenolate ring enables the carboxylation reaction shown in the second step.
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Other Aromatic Compounds
- All the aromatic compounds discussed above have 6 π-electrons (n=1).
- Benzene is the archetypical aromatic compound.
- Four illustrative examples of aromatic compounds are shown above.
- The second and third compounds are heterocycles having aromatic properties.
- Carbanions and carbocations may also show aromatic stabilization.
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Substitution Reactions of Benzene and Other Aromatic Compounds
- Since the reagents and conditions employed in these reactions are electrophilic, these reactions are commonly referred to as Electrophilic Aromatic Substitution.
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Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are potent atmospheric pollutants that consist of fused aromatic rings and do not contain heteroatoms.
- It can degrade high molecular mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of 4 and 5 rings.
- Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), also known as poly-aromatic hydrocarbons or polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, are seen in .
- It can degrade high molecular mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons of 4 and 5 rings.
- An image showing three examples of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.
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Introduction to Hydrocarbons
- This class can be further divided into two groups: aliphatic hydrocarbons and aromatic hydrocarbons.
- Aromatic hydrocarbons, or arenes, which contain a benzene ring, were originally named for their pleasant odors.
- For example, a chemical structure can be both aromatic and contain an alkyne.
- The benzene molecules and its derivatives are the basis for aromatic structures.
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Benzene and other Aromatic Compounds
- The adjective "aromatic" is used by organic chemists in a rather different way than it is normally applied.
- Since double bonds are easily cleaved by oxidative reagents such as potassium permanganate or ozone, and rapidly add bromine and chlorine, these reactions were applied to these aromatic compounds.
- As experimental evidence for a wide assortment of compounds was acquired, those incorporating this exceptionally stable six-carbon core came to be called "aromatic".
- This sort of stability enhancement is now accepted as a characteristic of all aromatic compounds.
- A molecular orbital description of benzene provides a more satisfying and more general treatment of "aromaticity".
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Five-Membered Rings
- It is the "aromatic" unsaturated compounds, furan, thiophene and pyrrole that require our attention.
- By this standard, the three aromatic heterocycles under examination are stabilized, but to a lesser degree than benzene.
- Whereas simple cycloalkenes generally give addition reactions, aromatic compounds tend to react by substitution.
- Reactions of pyrrole require careful evaluation, since N-protonation destroys its aromatic character.
- The benzoin condensation is limited to aromatic aldehydes, but the use of thiazolium catalysts has proven broadly effective for aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes.