Antiaromaticity

Antiaromaticity is a chemical property of a cyclic molecule with a π electron system that has higher energy, i.e., it is less stable due to the presence of 4n delocalised (π or lone pair) electrons in it, as opposed to aromaticity. Unlike aromatic compounds, which follow Hückel's rule ([4n+2] π electrons)^[1] and are highly stable, antiaromatic compounds are highly unstable and highly reactive. To avoid the instability of antiaromaticity, molecules may change shape, becoming non-planar and therefore breaking some of the π interactions. In contrast to the diamagnetic ring current present in aromatic compounds, antiaromatic compounds have a paramagnetic ring current, which can be observed by NMR spectroscopy.

Examples of antiaromatic compounds are pentalene (A), biphenylene (B), cyclopentadienyl cation (C). The prototypical example of antiaromaticity, cyclobutadiene, is the subject of debate, with some scientists arguing that antiaromaticity is not a major factor contributing to its destabilization.^[2]

Cyclooctatetraene is an example of a molecule adopting a non-planar geometry to avoid the destabilization that results from antiaromaticity. If it were planar, it would have a single eight-electron π system around the ring, but it instead adopts a boat-like shape with four individual π bonds.^[3] Because antiaromatic compounds are often short-lived and difficult to work with experimentally, antiaromatic destabilization energy is often modeled by simulation rather than by experimentation.^[2]