Re:How Plastics Are Poisoning Us
by selimthegrim on Wednesday June 28, 2023 @11:59AM
(#36508393)
I think you’re confusing unstable with energetics it’s certainly unstable to UV but you’d have to look at the kinetics and enthalpies of formation
If you look into molecular orbital theory, the double bond causes overlap, which makes the bonds unstable. It can more easily jump off and create a new bond. If you want to see an even worse situation, look at Nitrogen triple bonds.
Further, the extra oxygen attached to the carbon makes the bond a bit polar since you have such a heavy electron clump on one side of the carbon.