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Ring Current

  • Page ID
    42559
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    Pi electrons in a molecule have higher energy than sigma electrons and, therefore, have greater freedom to move. When an aromatic ring is placed in an external magnetic field, it positions itself so that it is perpendicular to the external magnetic field, and the conjugated pi electron system in the ring is induced to move in a specific manner within and around the ring. This movement of pi electrons is known as the ring current.

    eg: benzene

    ringcurrent.png


    This page titled Ring Current is shared under a All Rights Reserved (used with permission) license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Gamini Gunawardena via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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