aliphatic - relating to or denoting organic compounds in which carbon atoms form open chains (as in the alkanes), not aromatic rings
aromatic rings (click here) - also known as aromatic compounds or arenes (click here) are hydrocarbons which contain benzene, or some other related ring structure. Benzene, C6H6, is often drawn as a ring of six carbon atoms, with alternating double bonds and single bonds: This simple picture has some complications, however.
Below is benzene. There are three double bonds on the ring and three single bonds on the ring. All the atoms making this ring are carbon and all the attached atoms are hydrogen. The symbol to the right is the way a benzene ring is symbolized in any molecule. This particular symbol for benzene is inaccurate because single bonds are longer than double bonds. The double bonds are stronger and more difficult to break down into atoms in a chemical reaction. I am not going to get into bond lengths and chemical expressions that tell one chemist to another what is going on in a reaction called a "chemical equation." It is just good to know what the average carbon compounds look like in the real world of chemistry.
aromatic rings (click here) - also known as aromatic compounds or arenes (click here) are hydrocarbons which contain benzene, or some other related ring structure. Benzene, C6H6, is often drawn as a ring of six carbon atoms, with alternating double bonds and single bonds: This simple picture has some complications, however.
Below is benzene. There are three double bonds on the ring and three single bonds on the ring. All the atoms making this ring are carbon and all the attached atoms are hydrogen. The symbol to the right is the way a benzene ring is symbolized in any molecule. This particular symbol for benzene is inaccurate because single bonds are longer than double bonds. The double bonds are stronger and more difficult to break down into atoms in a chemical reaction. I am not going to get into bond lengths and chemical expressions that tell one chemist to another what is going on in a reaction called a "chemical equation." It is just good to know what the average carbon compounds look like in the real world of chemistry.
