Using Clar sextets for two- and three-dimensional aromatic systems

Abstract

After a brief history of the aromaticity concept, the use of Clar sextet circles is reviewed for explaining various aspects of planar aromatic systems (benzenoids, heterocycles) and of tridimensional carbon aggregates. When folding a graphene sheet for obtaining nanotubes, nanotori, or nanocones, the congruence of Clar sextet circles allows the classification of all such aggregates into two classes (congruent or incongruent) with marked differences in properties; this is in agreement with the well-known condition h − k ≡ 0 (mod 3), equivalent to congruence, in terms of the chiral vectors h and k for graphene sheets.