The Molecular Structure of Cyclobutane

Abstract

The cyclobutane molecule has been found by electron diffraction to have the following bond distances and bond angles: C–C, 1.568±0.02A; C–H, 1.098±0.04A; ∠HCH, 114±8°. On the average the ring is nonplanar, with dihedral angle 20° (+10°, −20°), but the equilibrium symmetry may be either D2d (puckered ring) or D4h (planar ring with low rigidity leading to large amplitude of out-of-plane bending). This point is discussed in connection with earlier spectroscopic work. The long bond distances found in four-membered rings are contrasted against the short distances in three-membered rings, and the strain energies, bond distances, and HCH angles of cycloalkanes are discussed in terms of modern valence concepts. It is suggested that the potential energy arising from a repulsion of the nonbonded carbon atoms may contribute significantly to the apparently anomalously high strain energy of cyclobutane. The repulsive force associated with such a potential is shown to account satisfactorily for the long C–C distances.