Arrange the following compounds in order of increasing dipole moment.T...
Dipole moment of p-dichlorobenzene is zero because of symmetrical structure. o- and m-dichlorobenzene have higher dipole moments than toluene due to high electronegativity of chlorine than –CH3 group. Further, the o-dichlorobenzene has higher dipole moment due to lower bond angle than the m-isomer. Hence, the order of increasing dipole moment is :
p-dichlorobenzene (IV) < toluene (I) < m-dichlorobenzene (II) < o-dichlorobenzene (III)
View all questions of this testArrange the following compounds in order of increasing dipole moment.T...
The dipole moment of a molecule depends on the difference in electronegativity between the atoms and the molecular geometry. In general, a higher difference in electronegativity and a more polar molecular geometry lead to a higher dipole moment.
In this case, we are comparing different substituted benzene compounds. Chlorine is more electronegative than carbon, so the addition of chlorine atoms to the benzene ring increases the dipole moment.
The order of increasing dipole moment is:
I) Toluene - Toluene is a nonpolar molecule because the methyl group is not very electronegative and does not significantly affect the dipole moment of the molecule.
III) o-dichlorobenzene - o-dichlorobenzene has a higher dipole moment than toluene because the two chlorine atoms on adjacent carbon atoms create a dipole moment towards the center of the molecule.
IV) p-dichlorobenzene - p-dichlorobenzene has a higher dipole moment than o-dichlorobenzene because the two chlorine atoms are on opposite sides of the benzene ring, creating a larger dipole moment.
II) m-dichlorobenzene - m-dichlorobenzene has the highest dipole moment because the two chlorine atoms are on adjacent carbon atoms, creating a dipole moment towards the center of the molecule.