Why 4n+2 π Electrons?

According to Hückel's Molecular Orbital Theory, a compound is particularly stable if all of its bonding molecular orbitals are filled with paired electrons. This is true of aromatic compounds, meaning they are quite stable. With aromatic compounds, 2 electrons fill the lowest energy molecular orbital, and 4 electrons fill each subsequent energy level (the number of subsequent energy levels is denoted by n), leaving all bonding orbitals filled and no anti-bonding orbitals occupied. This gives a total of 4n+2 π

electrons. You can see how this works with the molecular orbital diagram for the aromatic compound, benzene, below. Benzene has 6 π electrons. Its first 2 π electrons fill the lowest energy orbital, and it has 4 π

electrons remaining. These 4 fill in the orbitals of the succeeding energy level. Notice how all of its bonding orbitals are filled, but none of the anti-bonding orbitals have any electrons.

To apply the 4n+2 rule, first count the number of π electrons in the molecule. Then, set this number equal to 4n+2 and solve for n. If is 0 or any positive integer (1, 2, 3,...), the rule has been met. For example, benzene has six π

electrons:

For benzene, we find that n=1

, which is a positive integer, so the rule is met.