Why is styrene and propene non-polar?

1 Answer
anor277
Jun 11, 2017

Well #C-C# and #C-H# are very non-polar bonds......

Explanation:

For a #C-H# bond there is only marginal charge separation between the bound atoms; for a #C-C# there should be no charge separation, as the bound atoms have no difference in electronegativity. For ethylene, #H_2C=CH_2#, even if there were bond polarity, the molecular dipole would be zero because of the symmetry. Maybe styrene, #C_6H_5CH=CH_2# should be a little more polar, however, the difference should be marginal.

Anyway, a styrene monomer is not going to stick around too long before it polymerizes.

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