Concerning the Structure of Benzene

The D6h structure of benzene has not yet been proven—that is the quintessence of an informative discussion in which all available experimental (and theoretical) findings were examined in order to determine whether or not they definitively rule out the “Kekule structure” (D3h.)‐Neither spectroscopic nor diffraction methods of analysis provide data that are in disagreement with the D3h, structure. The discussion of the structure of benzene in textbooks should therefore be formulated more carefully. Furthermore, one should exercise caution in analyzing the alternation of CC bond lengths in annulenes by X‐ray diffraction.