Delocalized Electrons

[Jordyn Lee 1J]

Hi, could someone please explain what it means for an electron to be delocalized? From my understanding they are more spread out, causing them to be more stable?

[ashna kumar 3k]

When an electron is delocalized, it basically means that it is not just located and shared between one bond of a molecule. Rather, the electron is spread out and can be found over a larger area of the whole molecule. This happens specifically in resonance structures.

[Sila_Sozeri_1C]

It means that there is no specific location or association of the electrons such as in an atom or a covalent bond.

[Kati Rady-Pentek 1E]

Delocalized electrons are electrons that are associated with a single atom or covalent bond. (Typically resonance bonds.)

[Nishan Reddy 3K]

This simply means that if a lewis structure has multiple possible structures (resonance) that can have multiple bonds/lone pairs and still have an octet, then the structure actually contains delocalized electrons that have a bond length equal to the average of the bonds in the multiple resonant structures

[105743571]

Delocalized electrons are mostly exhibited in metal elements. Because metals are more likely to lose electrons to become more stable (low ionization energy), valence electrons are often found "swimming" between atoms. This is also the reason why metals can conduct electricity; electrons carry charges.

[Aneesha_Nema_3C]

Delocalized electrons are electrons involved in resonance structures. In lecture, Dr. Lavelle used benzene, C6H6, as an example. For benzene, there are 2 possible resonance structures in which each structure has 3 different sets of C atoms that are double bonded. Therefore, benzene has 3 delocalized double bonds. Hopefully that makes sense!