Both ethylene (C2H4) and benzene (C6H6) contain the C C bond. The reactivity of ethylene is greater than that of benzene. For example, ethylene readily reacts with molecular bromine, whereas benzene is normally quite inert toward molecular bromine and many other compounds. Explain this difference in reactivity.

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Chemistry

Naima Sweeney

12 January, 20:30

Both ethylene (C2H4) and benzene (C6H6) contain the C C bond. The reactivity of ethylene is greater than that of benzene. For example, ethylene readily reacts with molecular bromine, whereas benzene is normally quite inert toward molecular bromine and many other compounds. Explain this difference in reactivity.

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Denisse Pineda · Answer 1

In spite of ethylene and benzene has double bonded carbon-carbon, Benzene is a cyclic molecule with a special property called aromaticity. Aromaticity gives to the ring electronic properties which makes harder for benzene being reactive as ethylene.

Benzene has the formula C6H6 being cyclic and aromatic because have conjugated double bonds and those double bonds has a property called resonance unusual elevated making the structure very stable. That can be seen under the conditions of reaction of alkene compounds in which benzene doesn't react, like bromination with Br2 in CCl4.

On the other hand, ethylene is an alkene which has the formula C2H4, the double bond carbon carbon is available to suffer the different reactions of alkenes being more reactive.