Synthesis of Defective Nanographenes Containing Joined Pentagons and Heptagons

Abstract

Defective nanographenes containing joined pentagons and heptagons exhibit striking physicochemical properties from both experimental and theoretical perspectives compared with their pure hexagonal counterparts. Thus, the synthesis and characterization of these unique polyarenes with well-defined defective topologies have attracted increasing attention. Despite extensive research on nonalternant molecules since the last century, most studies focused on the corresponding mutagenic and carcinogenic activities. Recently, researchers have realized that the defective domain induces geometric bending and causes electronic perturbation, thus leading to significant alteration of the photophysical properties. This review discusses the synthesis and characterization of small nonalternant polycyclic hydrocarbons in the early stage and recent developments in embedding pentagon–heptagon (5–7) pairs into large carbon skeletons through in-solution chemistry.