Did Baeyer believe benzene was a strain-free ring?
This is a common misconception. I did not claim benzene is strain-free; rather, I argued that its stability arises from its aromatic character, not from lack of strain. In my 1888 work 'Über die Constitution des Benzols,' I proposed that benzene has a symmetrical, planar structure with alternating single and double bonds, but I recognized that the 120-degree bond angles in a regular hexagon deviate from the ideal tetrahedral angle. The strain is minimal, but the compound's unusual stability—its resistance to addition reactions—led me to emphasize its 'aromatic character' as a special property. Later, the concept of resonance and delocalized electrons explained this stability more fully. My strain theory was primarily for saturated rings; for benzene, I focused on its unique reactivity and the evidence from substitution patterns.
Ask Adolf von Baeyer the follow-up →