Question
Question: Why is benzene non-polar?...
Why is benzene non-polar?
Solution
Hint : A polar molecule is the one in which the electron cloud is more towards more electronegative atoms, as a result there will be partial electronic charges. Dipole moment gives the measure of the polarity of the molecule.
Complete Step By Step Answer:
Benzene is made up of carbon and hydrogen having molecular formula C6H6 . It is an organic compound, having a planar ring. It is a volatile, clear, liquid aromatic hydrocarbon.
Benzene has C−C and C−H bonds. Carbon is more electronegative than hydrogen, we can say that the C−H bond is slightly polar and have small dipole moment (whenever there is separation of charges, there will be dipole moment)
Dipole moment is the product of magnitude of charges and the distance between the charges. The direction of the dipole moment vector is from positive charge to negative charge.
But the benzene molecule is symmetric and flat. The dipoles of the C−H bonds will be opposite to each other. Thus, the dipoles cancel out each other and the net dipole moment is zero. Hence, the benzene molecule is nonpolar.
Additional Information:
Benzene has six π electrons that undergo delocalisation. It is highly toxic and is regarded as a carcinogen. Benzene is a well known organic solvent, many derivatives of benzene are known which are of much importance.
Note :
In order to find the polarity of the molecule, we should always look for the electronegativity difference between the atoms and the dipole moment. While finding out the net dipole moment of the molecule, the direction of the dipole moment vector should be considered correctly.