According to Hund's rule, which form of carbene is generally more stable in its ground state? — Reaction Mechanism Chemistry Question

💡 Solution & Explanation

In triplet carbene, the two unshared electrons reside in two different orbitals with parallel spins (total spin = 1). According to Hund's rule of maximum multiplicity, this minimizes electron-electron repulsion, making it lower in energy and more stable than the singlet carbene where electrons are paired in the same orbital.