Cyclooctatetraene (COT) possesses 8 electrons and alternating double bonds, yet it is NOT anti-aromatic. What physical reality allows COT to escape severe anti-aromatic destabilization?

Question

Cyclooctatetraene (COT) possesses 8 $\pi$ electrons and alternating double bonds, yet it is NOT anti-aromatic. What physical reality allows COT to escape severe anti-aromatic destabilization?

Prashant Kotian · Accepted Answer

Correct answer: B. Anti-aromaticity is so thermodynamically punishing that large rings (like 8-membered COT) will physically warp into a non-planar 3D shape (tub conformation) to break orbital overlap, safely rendering the molecule Non-Aromatic.

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