New Carbon Nanoring Material

Cycloparaphenylenes (CPPs), in which benzene rings are bound to each other at their para positions, represent the shortest sidewall segment (carbon nanoring) of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs). In 2009, Itami et al. have reported the first synthesis of [12]cycloparaphenylene (1), which is composed of twelve benzene rings.^1a,b) Various applications using 1 are expected.

Moreover, by using 1 as a “template” to grow a nanotube, the selective synthesis of structurally uniform SWCNTs is also expected in the future.²⁾