Why is furan an aromatic compound?
1 Answer
Furan is an aromatic compound because one of the lone pairs of electrons on the oxygen atom is delocalized into the ring.
The oxygen atom is sp² hybridized, with one of its lone pairs in a p orbital.
This creates a cyclic π system with six electrons.
According to Hückel's 4n+2 rule, this is an aromatic π system.