Sesquifulvalene or Pentaheptafulvalene is a

hydrocarbon In organic chemistry, a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are examples of group 14 hydrides. Hydrocarbons are generally colourless and hydrophobic, and their odors are usually weak or ...

in the fulvalene class with

chemical formula In chemistry, a chemical formula is a way of presenting information about the chemical proportions of atoms that constitute a particular chemical compound or molecule, using chemical element symbols, numbers, and sometimes also other symbols, ...

C₁₂H₁₀. It is composed of linked

cyclopentadiene Cyclopentadiene is an organic compound with the formula C5H6.LeRoy H. Scharpen and Victor W. Laurie (1965): "Structure of cyclopentadiene". ''The Journal of Chemical Physics'', volume 43, issue 8, pages 2765-2766. It is often abbreviated CpH beca ...

and

cycloheptatriene Cycloheptatriene (CHT) is an organic compound with the formula C7H8. It is a closed ring of seven carbon atoms joined by three double bonds (as the name implies) and four single bonds. This colourless liquid has been of recurring theoretical inte ...

rings.

Properties

In the ground state, which is a

singlet state In quantum mechanics, a singlet state usually refers to a system in which all electrons are paired. The term 'singlet' originally meant a linked set of particles whose net angular momentum is zero, that is, whose overall spin quantum number s=0. As ...

, the central

double bond In chemistry, a double bond is a covalent bond between two atoms involving four bonding electrons as opposed to two in a single bond. Double bonds occur most commonly between two carbon atoms, for example in alkenes. Many double bonds exist betw ...

is polarized, with a partial positive charge on the carbon atom of heptagonal ring and a partial negative charge on the carbon atom of pentagonal ring. This shift makes each ring have closer to 4''n''+2

π electrons In chemistry, pi bonds (π bonds) are covalent chemical bonds, in each of which two lobes of an orbital on one atom overlap with two lobes of an orbital on another atom, and in which this overlap occurs laterally. Each of these atomic orbitals ...

, in keeping with the Hückel's pattern of aromatic stability. However, in the lowest quintet state, the central double bond is polarized with a partial negative charge on the carbon atom of heptagonal ring and a partial positive charge on the carbon atom of pentagonal ring due to

Baird's rule In organic chemistry, Baird's rule estimates whether the lowest triplet state of planar, cyclic structures will have aromatic properties or not. The quantum mechanical basis for its formulation was first worked out by physical chemist N. Colin B ...

References

Fulvalenes {{Hydrocarbon-stub

Properties

See also

References