Why is ethylene planar

The bond order for ethene is simply the number of bonds between each atom: the carbon-carbon bond has a bond order of two, and each carbon-hydrogen bond has a bond order of one.

At each atom, what is the hybridization and the bond angle? At atom A draw the molecular orbital. Skip to main content. Chapter 1: Structure and Bonding. Search for:. Objectives After completing this section, you should be able to account for the formation of carbon-carbon double bonds using the concept of sp 2 hybridization.

Key Terms Make certain that you can define, and use in context, the key terms below. Bonding in Ethene A key component of using Valence Bond Theory correctly is being able to use the Lewis dot diagram correctly. Example Consider the following molecule:. Sigma bonds are created when there is overlap of similar orbitals, orbitals that are aligned along the inter-nuclear axis.

Sites such as these are referred to as functional groups or functionalities. These groups have characteristic properties and they control the reactivity of the molecule as a whole. How these functional groups and other reactants form various products are an important concept in organic chemistry.

These carbon atoms already have four electrons, but they each want to get four more so that they have a full eight in the valence shell. Having eight valence electrons around carbon gives the atom itself the same electron configuration as neon, a noble gas. Carbon wants to have the same configuration as Neon because when it has eight valence electrons carbon is at its most stable, lowest energy state, it has all of the electrons that it wants, so it is no longer reactive.

Ethene is not a very complicated molecule. It contains two carbon atoms that are double bonded to each other, with each of these atoms also bonded to two Hydrogen atoms. Since the carbon atom is forming three sigma bonds instead of the four that it can, it only needs to hybridize three of its outer orbitals, instead of four.

These structures are very similar to a 'peace' sign, there is a central atom with three atoms around it, all on one plane. There is rigidity in the Ethene molecule due to the double-bonded carbons. In Ethane there are two carbons that share a single bond, this allows the two Methyl groups to rotate with respect to each other.

These different conformations result in higher and lower energy forms of Ethane. In Ethene there is no free rotation about the carbon-carbon sigma bond.

Sigma and Pi Bonds All the bonds in Ethene are covalent, meaning that they are all formed by two adjacent atoms sharing their valence electrons. Structure of Ethene Ethene is not a very complicated molecule. Rigidity in Ethene There is rigidity in the Ethene molecule due to the double-bonded carbons.

References Vollhardt, K.