A gas electron diffraction study of the molecular structure of cis-stilbene

The cis-Stilbene molecule is found to possess C₂ symmetry and may be described as having a propeller-like conformation with the phenyl groups rotated ca. 43° about the C-φ bonds. The deviation from planarity is found to be more extensive than predicted by most theoretical calculations. The steric strain in the molecule is also revealed by large valence angles at the central carbon-carbon double bond (∠CC-C: 129.5°).