The key difference between benzene and benzoate is that benzene is a single ring structure with no substitutes on it, whereas benzoate is the conjugate base of benzoic acid and has a benzene ring with one proton replaced by a negatively charged functional group.
Benzene is an organic compound having the chemical formula C6H6. This organic compound has a six-membered ring structure, and all members are carbon atoms. Benzoate is the simplest member of the class of benzoates that can be found as the conjugate base of benzoic acid.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Benzene
3. What is Benzoate
4. Benzene vs Benzoate in Tabular Form
5. Summary – Benzene vs Benzoate
What is Benzene?
Benzene is an organic compound having the chemical formula C6H6. This organic compound has a six-membered ring structure, and all members are carbon atoms. In this structure, each of these carbon atoms is attached to a hydrogen atom. Since this compound contains only carbon and hydrogen atoms, it is a hydrocarbon. Above all, this compound naturally occurs as a constituent of crude oil.
The molar mass of benzene is 78.11 g/mol. Its melting point and boiling points are 5.53 °C and 80.1 °C, respectively. Benzene is a colorless liquid at room temperature. Furthermore, it is an aromatic hydrocarbon. As a result, it has an aromatic odor. Moreover, according to the X-ray diffraction determinations, all the bonds between the six carbon atoms have similar lengths. Therefore, it has an intermediate structure. We call it a “hybrid structure” because, according to the bond formation, there should be alternating single bonds and double bonds between the carbon atoms. Subsequently, the actual benzene structure is a result of several resonance structures of the benzene molecule.
What is Benzoate?
Benzoate is the simplest member of the class of benzoates that can be found as the conjugate base of benzoic acid. It consists of a benzoic acid core with a proton missing, giving a -1 charge. In other words, it is the conjugate base of benzoic acid. The most common form of benzoate is sodium benzoate.
Sodium benzoate is the sodium salt of benzoic acid, having the chemical formula C6H5COONa. We can produce it via the neutralization reaction of benzoic acid. This production method involves the reaction between sodium hydroxide and benzoic acid. But commercially, we can also produce it by partial oxidation of toluene in the presence of oxygen. Generally, sodium benzoate is present in many food products along with benzoic acid. Some rich sources include vegetables and fruits. The major application of this compound is its use as a food preservative.
What is the Difference Between Benzene and Benzoate?
Benzene and benzoate are two related chemical compounds. The key difference between benzene and benzoate is that benzene is a single ring structure with no substitutes on it, whereas benzoate is the conjugate base of benzoic acid and has a benzene ring with one proton replaced by a negatively charged functional group.
Below is a summary of the difference between benzene and benzoate in tabular form for side by side comparison.
Summary – Benzene vs Benzoate
Benzene is an organic compound having the chemical formula C6H6. This organic compound has a six-membered ring structure, and all members are carbon atoms. Benzoate is the simplest member of the class of benzoates that can be found as the conjugate base of benzoic acid. The key difference between benzene and benzoate is that benzene is a single ring structure with no substitutes on it, whereas benzoate is the conjugate base of benzoic acid and has a benzene ring with one proton replaced by a negatively charged functional group.
Reference:
1. “Benzoate.” National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database, U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Benzene Representations” By Vladsinger – Own vector drawing based on layout of en:File:Benzol trans.png. (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Denatonium benzoate chemical structure part 2” By The original uploader was Cacycle at English Wikipedia. – Selfmade by cacycle, Transferred from en.wikipedia to Commons. (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia