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Exercise · Q24

Q.The allyl cation, CH2=CH-CH2(+), is more stable than a simple primary carbocation of comparable size. Draw its resonance structures and explain why.

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The allyl cation is usually written as CH2=CH−CH2+\text{CH}_2=\text{CH}-\text{CH}_2^+, with the positive charge formally sitting on the carbon farthest from the double bond. But because that positively charged carbon sits directly next to (is 'allylic' to) the double bond, an equally valid second structure can be drawn in which the pi electrons shift so that the double bond moves to what was the single bond, and the positive charge moves instead to what was originally the =CH2=\text{CH}_2 carbon: +CH2−CH=CH2^+\text{CH}_2-\text{CH}=\text{CH}_2. These two structures differ only in electron placement, not in the position of any atom or nucleus, so they are valid resonance structures of one and the same species, and since the molecule is symmetric, both structures are of identical energy and contribute equally. …

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