Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2026

Microscopic Visualization of Porous Nanographenes Synthesized through a Combination of Solution and On-Surface Chemistry
Published on: March 4, 2021
Geometrical structure of benzene and naphthalene: ultrahigh-resolution laser spectroscopy and ab initio calculation
Masaaki Baba1, Yasuyuki Kowaka, Umpei Nagashima
1Division of Chemistry, Graduate School of Science, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan. baba@kuchem.kyoto-u.ac.jp
Abstract:
Geometrical structures of the isolated benzene and naphthalene molecules have been accurately determined by using ultrahigh-resolution laser spectroscopy and ab initio calculation in a complementary manner. The benzene molecule has been identified to be planar and hexagonal (D(6h)) and the structure has been determined with accuracies of 2 × 10(-14) m (0.2 mÅ; 1 Å = 1 × 10(-10) m) for the C-C bond length and 1.0 × 10(-13) m (1.0 mÅ) for the C-H bond length. The naphthalene molecule has been identified to be symmetric with respect to three coordinate axes (D(2h)) and the structure has been determined with comparable accuracies. We discuss the effect of vibrational averaging that is a consequence of zero-point motions on the uncertainty in determining the bond lengths.
More Related Videos
09:35Preparation of a Corannulene-functionalized Hexahelicene by Copper(I)-catalyzed Alkyne-azide Cycloaddition of Nonplanar Polyaromatic Units
Published on: September 18, 2016
12:07Microwave-assisted Intramolecular Dehydrogenative Diels-Alder Reactions for the Synthesis of Functionalized Naphthalenes/Solvatochromic Dyes
Published on: April 1, 2013
Related Concept Videos
Structure of Benzene: Molecular Orbital Model
Structure of Benzene: Kekulé Model
He proposed that benzene has a cyclic structure of six carbon atoms attached to one hydrogen atom each, with three alternating pi bonds.
NMR Spectroscopy of Benzene Derivatives
Criteria for Aromaticity and the Hückel 4n + 2 Rule
For the first time, Eric Hückel, a German chemical physicist, derived a set of structural features for a compound to be classified as aromatic. This is now known as Hückel’s rule or the 4n + 2 rule.
NMR Spectroscopy of Aromatic Compounds
UV–Vis Spectroscopy: Woodward–Fieser Rules