Chaolumen, Iain A. Stepek, Keigo E. Yamada, Hideto Ito,* Kenichiro Itami*
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 2021, 60, 23508-23532. https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.202100260
Abstract
Molecular nanocarbons containing heptagonal rings have attracted increasing interest due to their dynamic behavior, electronic properties, aromaticity, and solid-state packing. Heptagon incorporation can not only induce negative curvature within nanocarbon scaffolds, but also confer significantly altered properties through interaction with adjacent non-hexagonal rings. Despite the disclosure of several beautiful examples in recent years, synthetic strategies toward heptagon-embedded molecular nanocarbons remain relatively limited due to the intrinsic challenges of heptagon formation and incorporation into polyarene frameworks. In this Review, recent advances in solution-mediated and surface-assisted synthesis of heptagon-containing molecular nanocarbons, as well as the intriguing properties of these frameworks, will be discussed.
