benzene is an aromatic compound consisting of a ring of six carbon atoms with six hydrogen atoms and a ring of delocalised electrons
each bond in the benzene ring has an intermediate length in between that of a double and a single bond
Cyclohexatriene
Three double bonds and three single bonds
Thermodynamic Data
Enthalpy of hydrogenation for benzene was predicted to be -360kJmol-1 , three times the enthalpy change of cyclohexene.
Arenes
compounds that contain benzene as part of their structure are called arenes or aromatic
they have high melting points, due to the high stability of the delocalised ring but low BP as they are non-polar molecules and often cannot be dissolved in water
Electrophilic Substiution
area of high electron density making it susceptible to attack from electrophiles
Formation of electrophiles
reactive intermediate
Friedel-Craft Acylation
delocalised ring can also act as a nucleophile, which leads to the attack on acyl chlorides
