MOLECULAR POLARITYFIELD NOTE 03 / 175
Is 1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2) polar or nonpolar?
1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2) is polar because its two C–Cl bonds can reinforce in accessible conformations.
1,2-Dichloroethane · tetrahedral at both C; flexible chain
The molecule in space
Drag to turn the molecule. Show angles to read the model geometry.
01 / MODEL RECORDPubChem 3D coordinates. Atom sizes and bond thickness are illustrative.How model data is used ↗
Why C2H4Cl2 is polar
Each carbon in 1,2-dichloroethane bears one chlorine. Rotation about the C–C single bond changes the instantaneous alignment of the two C–Cl bond dipoles, and the conformers are not all equally populated.
What to notice
A perfectly opposite pair of bond dipoles in one frozen conformer is not the whole molecular story; conformer populations matter for flexible 1,2-dichloroethane.
Common questions about 1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2)
- 01
What does the Lewis structure of 1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2) show?
The connectivity is Cl–CH2–CH2–Cl. All heavy-atom bonds are single; each chlorine carries three lone pairs.
- 02
What is the molecular geometry of 1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2)?
1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2) has a tetrahedral at both C; flexible chain molecular geometry. The 3D model shows representative bond angles of 111.8° and 107.7° and 111.2°. These angles come from the displayed model coordinates.
- 03
What is the molar mass of 1,2-Dichloroethane (C2H4Cl2)?
C2H4Cl2 has an approximate molar mass of 98.95 g/mol, calculated from its formula using abridged standard atomic weights. Natural isotope variation can change the last digits.