68 Unit 10: Aromatics
After understanding the usefulness of unsaturated compound, or conjugated system, we
hope to explore the unique structure of aromatic^1 compounds, including why benzene should
not be called 1,3,5-cyclohexatriene because it is more stable than a typical triene, and
seemingly unreactive. Called ”aromatic” initially because of its fragrance, aromaticity now
refers to the stability of compounds that are considered aromatic, not only benzene. Any
cyclic compound with 4n+2 pi electrons in the system is aromatic. The stability of aromatic
compounds arises because all bonding orbitals are filled and low in energy.
1 https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Organic%20Chemistry%2FAromatics%20in%20history