Recent Research from ISM Collaboration

Left: graphic says hybridization and correlation inside diradical [4n] annulene
Right: 4 line structures of hydrocarbons, highlighting diradical character — Various polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from [4n] annulenes

A conceptual review on the diradical character of a large category of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, some illustrated above, has appeared in Angewandte Chemie. Diradicals of this kind are relevant for soft matter science due to their potentials as spin bearing elements in organic matter and due to their ability to participate in unusual aggregations of such flat and electronically active molecules. The work, “Polycyclic Hydrocarbons from [4n]annulenes: Correlation vs. Hybridization Forces in the Formation of Diradicaloids“, is the result of a collaboration between physical chemists Quintero and Casado, from the University of Malaga, Spain, Haley, a synthetic chemist from the University of Oregon, Eugene, OR, and ISMSM member, Kertesz, a computational chemist.