How
to
Determine
Aromaticity:
The
Lone
Pair
Predicament




Still
haven’t
unwrapped
your
thinkbook?
Don’t
worry!
Here’s
a
brief
overview
of
aromaticity:



DEFINITION

Aromaticity
a
special
kind
of
stability
a
molecule
possesses
when
it
meets
these
three

requirements:



1)
There
is
a
Closed
loop
of
p‐orbitals
somewhere
in
the
molecule

• This
means
that
the
atoms
in
the
ring
must
be
sp2
or
sp
(rarely)
hybridized










 All
the
carbons
in
this
benzene


 molecule
are
sp2
hybridized.










































































































































 Image
1











3

• Remember:
sp hybridized
atoms
do
not
contribute
any
p‐orbitals.


 
 
Images

2,
3,
4
and
5
clockwise
from
top
left




 

Images
6
and
7,
from
left
to
right





• The
p‐orbitals
do
not
necessarily
have
to
be
filled
with
electrons






 The
positively‐charged
carbon


 has
a
sp2
hybridization
and
still


 has
a
p‐orbital
that
contributes


 to
the
closed
ring
even
though



electrons
do
not
occupy
it.





Image
8





2)
These
p‐orbitals
must
overlap.
In
other
words,
the
molecule
must
be
planar

































Image
9


The
electrons
of
the
p‐orbitals

are
delocalized
and
distributed

into
two
of
its
own
planes,
one

above
and
below
the
planar

molecule.
All
aromatic

molecules
are
conjugated.




• Note:
If
molecule
has
a
large
substituent(s),
torsional
strain
can
force
it
out
of
planarity

o This
case
happens
when
torsional
strain
>
aromatic
stability

 How
can
I
tell?
Below
are
a
few
cases
you
should
remember

 Note:
A
wrong
answer
with
the
right
assumption
(assuming
that
torsional

strain
will
overcome
the
aromatic
stability)
will
earn
credit
if
correct

reasoning
is
shown



 

o Ex)
Annulene





o Why
isn’t
this
aromatic?
Hint:
don’t
forget
to

draw
in
the
hydrogens!






Image
10







Hydrogen
atoms
that
are
not
drawn
on
carbons
2
and
7
try
to
occupy
the
same
space

This
leads
to
torsional
strain
that
outweighs
the
stability
the
molecule
would
gain
from

aromaticity

The
molecule
assumes
a
non‐planar
conformation
and
is
not
aromatic



o Ex)
Benzene
can
hold
up
to
5‐tert
butyl
groups
until
torsional
strain
>
aromatic
stability





















Image
11





3)
Huckel’s
rule:
4n+2
pi
electrons;
n
is
any
integer
(0,
1,
2…)

• Tricky
rule:
take
resonance
structures
into
account

• Pi
electrons
=
pi
bond(s)
within
the
closed
loop
(1
pi
bond
=
2
electrons)
+
lone
pairs

participating
in
resonance
structures’
pi
bonds

o Which
lone
pairs
count?
Well
that’s
the
Lone
Pair
Predicament!



THE
LONE
PAIR
PREDICAMENT

Remember
before
when
we
said
that
sp3
hybridized
atoms
could
not
participate
in

aromaticity?
Well
that’s
true,
but
it’s
not
as
easy
as
a
rule
as
it
sounds.




Sometimes,
an
atom
can
look
like
it
is
sp3
hybridized,
but
it
is
actually
be
sp2
hybridized.




How
can
this
happen?
Has
your
life
come
crashing
down
at
the
very
thought
of
sp2
atoms

appearing
to
be
sp3?
Us
too.
Hopefully,
this
explanation
will
help
you
get
to
sleep
tonight:



An
atom
that
looks
like
it
is
sp3
can
be
classified
as
sp2
only
when
it
would
benefit
the
molecule

for
this
to
be
so.
What
exactly
does
that
mean?
Well
consider
this
circumstance:



Say
you’re
dragging
yourself
through
the
Chemistry
14C
midterm
and
you
come
across
the

aromaticity
problem.
It
kindly
asks
you
to
determine
if
molecule
X
is
aromatic.
There
are
no

formal
charges.
It
looks
something
like
this:







Image
12



You’re
a
smart
fella
so
you
remember
that
sp2
hybridized
(contains
p‐orbitals)
atoms
in
a
closed

ring
can
produce
an
aromatic
molecule
(assuming
it
follows
Huckel’s
rule).


 4
carbon
atoms
are
sp2
hybridized

Ⅹ Nitrogen
atom
is
sp3
hybridized
because
it
has
three
sigma
bonds
and
one
lone
pair.

→ Done.
Not
aromatic.
It
doesn’t
follow
Huckel’s
Rule
(4
pi
electrons)
AND
not
all
atoms
in

the
ring
have
p‐orbitals.



WRONG!!!!!


The
resonance
structures
of
this
molecule
are:




















































Image
13





 Combined
resonance
structure:










 
 Image
14








One
of
the
lone
pairs
of
the
nitrogen
atom
contribute
to
these
resonance
structures,
creating

partial
pi
bonds
and
causing
the
nitrogen
to
have
a
partial
p‐orbital.



Therefore
the
lone
pair
contributes
to
the
aromaticity.
The
structure
follows
Huckel’s
Rule
(6

electrons
=
4(1)
+2)
AND
all
atoms
in
the
ring
have
p‐orbitals.
The
p‐orbitals
overlap
making
the

molecule
planar.
The
molecule
is
aromatic.



See!
You,
my
friend
just
fell
victim
to
lone
pair
ploy
–
a
cheap

trick
used
by
these
con
artists

that
will
cost
you
points
on
exams
and
admission
into
medical
school.
How
do
you
know
if
a

seemingly
sp3
hybridized
atom
is
actually
sp2
hybridized?
Here’s
how
we
fix
this:



ASK
YOURSELF
THESE
QUESTIONS,
IN
ORDER:

1.
Does
this
atom
possess
lone
electrons
that
contribute
to
resonance
structures?

2.
Does
this
seemingly
sp3
atom
is
ruin
the
aromaticity?














*Remember,
atoms
really
want
to
be
aromatic.
It
decreases
their
energy
and
makes


















them
more
stable,
so
don’t
be
fooled
by
sp3
camouflage.


3.
Would
the
atom
that
is
ruining
the
aromaticity
actually
complete
a
closed
loop
of

overlapping
p
orbitals
if
it
had
a
p
orbital?

If
all
above
is
true,
feel
free
to
assign
the
molecule
an
sp2
hybridization.


→ Note:
When
this
happens,
these
lone
pairs
can
count
as
pi
electrons.




PRACTICE
PROBLEMS

Are
you
still
confused?
We
understand
if
you
are.
This
topic
is
pretty
confusing
and
goes
against

so
many
topics
we
covered
in
14A
and
14B.
Fear
not!
Here
are
some
SUPER
FUN
examples
to

get
you
pumped
for
hybridizing
even
the
most
complex
molecules:




 This
molecule
is
not
aromatic
because
the


 carbon
at
the
top
of
the
closed‐ring
(where
the

Image
15

ethyl
group
is
attached)
has
no
p
orbital.
It
is
sp3


 hybridized.
Don’t
be
fooled,
even
though
the

molecule
has
the
correct
number
of
pi
electrons


 to
follow
Huckel’s
rule!



 This
molecule
is
not
aromatic
because
it

disobeys
Huckel’s
rule.
The
nitrogens
contribute



its’
lone
pairs
to
the
resonance
structures


 (therefore
are
sp2
hybridized).
This
is
also
the

case
with
Sulfur,
but
Sulfur
can
only
contribute

Image
16

one
of
its
lone
pairs.
Because
it
only
uses
one









 lone
pair,
the
total
number
of
pi
electrons
is
8,

which
does
not
fit
with
4n+2
(n
=1.5
–
not
an

integer).
Remember:
an
atom
will
never
use
both

lone
pairs
to
contribute
to
aromaticity!


 This
molecule
is
aromatic.
The
oxygen’s

electrons
do
not
contribute
to
resonance

Image
17

structure,
and
therefore
do
not
lie
in
the
p‐

 orbital.
Nevertheless,
oxygen
is
still
sp2

hybridized
AND
it
follows
Huckel’s
Rule
with
6
pi


 electrons,
so
it
all
works
out!



 

This
molecule
is
aromatic.
The
nitrogen
on
the




Image
18

top
does
not
contribute
it’s
lone
pairs
in

.

 resonance
structures
(therefore
do
not
count
as

pi
electrons).
This
is
shown
in
the
resonance


 contributors
below.
The
nitrogen
on
the
bottom


 contributes
it’s
lone
pairs
in
resonance



structures,
therefore
they
do
count
as
pi



electrons.
The
total
pi
electron
count
=
6



(follows
Huckel’s
Rule).










Image
19








 This
molecule
is
not
aromatic.
The
lone
pair

Image
20

cannot
make
a
pi
bond
with
the
other
carbons



because
it
will
create
a
pentacarbon
(unstable).



Therefore,
that
carbon
is
sp3
molecules
and
do



not
have
a
p‐orbital.
Also,
the
total
number
of
pi



electrons
=
4
(n=1.5
–
not
an
integer).























Cited
Works



Images
1
and
9:
Wikipedia.
Wikimedia
Foundation.
Web.
27
Apr.
2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benzene_Orbitals.svg>.



Images
2,
5,
6:
http://www.meta‐synthesis.com/webbook/45_vsepr/VSEPR.html



Images
3,
4,
7:

http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Theoretical_Chemistry/Chemical_Bonding/Valence_Bond_Theory/Hybridiz
ation



Image
8:
http://www.nku.edu/~russellk/tutorial/reson/C7H7+.GIF



Image
10:
http://science.uvu.edu/ochem/wp‐content/images/A/aromatic12.png



Image
11:
Created
on
ChemDraw



Image
12:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrrole_structure.png



Image
13:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrrole_Resonance.png



Image
14:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Pyrrole‐2D‐full.svg



Image
15:
Created
on
ChemDraw



Images
16,
17,
20:
http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/Organic_Chemistry/Aromatics/Hückel's_Rule



Image
18:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/31/Imidazole_structure.png



Image
19:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Resonance‐imidazole.png