Absolutely Small

18

Aromatic Molecules

IN CHAPTERS 13 AND 14 we discussed double bonds, and in Chapter 16 we saw that double bonds play a fundamental role in determining the biological properties of fats. Some of the fat molecules discussed, the polyunsaturated fats, have several double bonds, but these double bonds are always separated by a number of single bonds. For example, Figure 16.5 shows a ball-and-stick model of DHA, a polyunsaturated fat with six double bonds. As can be seen, there are two single bonds between each double bond. In this chapter, we will see the wide-ranging impacts of multiple double bonds that are not separated by several single bonds. Quantum theory shows that the nature of the bonding found in the molecule benzene and a vast number ...