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Why is benzene more stable than the theoretical model cyclohexa-1,3,5-triene?

The greater stability of benzene is usually explained based on the following reasons:

  1. A molecule of cyclohexa-1,3,5-triene has three C=C bonds and in each bond, two unhybridized orbitals overlap, forming a π bond. In benzene, all six unhybridized p orbitals overlap, forming a ring of delocalized electrons and the π bond spreads over all six carbon atoms, which contributes towards the stability of the benzene ring.

  2. Benzene has six resonance structures (two Kekule’s and three Dewar’s Structures), which further contributes to the stability of the benzene ring.



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