Sunday, November 14, 2021

Phane names

Have a look at the structure (a).

(a)
  1. calix[4]arene (trivial)
    pentacyclo[19.3.1.13,7.19,13.115,19]octacosa-1(25),3(28),4,6,9(27),10,12,15(26),16,18,21,23-dodecaene (von Baeyer)
    1,3,5,7(1,3)-tetrabenzenacyclooctaphane (phane)

Applying von Baeyer nomenclature, we get a horrendously long and unwieldy name ‘pentacyclo[19.3.1.13,7.19,13.115,19]octacosa-1(25),3(28),4,6,9(27),10,12,15(26),16,18,21,23-dodecaene’. I think it’s a crime to name a beautifully symmetrical structure like (a) in such a fashion. Can’t we create a name that states the obvious: (a) is a big cycle containing four benzene rings?