π-Electron Currents in Polycyclic Conjugated Hydrocarbons of DecreasingAromatic Character and a Novel Structural Definition of Aromaticity#

摘要

We consider a set of nine polycyclic conjugated hydrocarbons, which includes at one extreme benzene, the prototypeof aromatic compounds, and at the other extreme cyclooctatetraene, a well-known nonaromatic compound, whilethe remaining seven compounds illustrate molecules of decreasing degree of aromaticity. Using the model of conjugatedcircuits for calculations of ring currents, we report on variations in the π-electron ring currents in these molecules with thedecrease of their degree of aromaticity. This contribution is a hybrid of original scientific paper and a review, and ifviewed as provocative, it is so by design