An 80-Carbon Aromatic Saddle Enabled by a Naphthalene-Directed Scholl Reaction

Synthesis of an unprecedented aromatic saddle consisting of 80 sp2 carbons is enabled by including naphthylene groups in the substrate of the Scholl reaction. The negatively curved polycyclic framework of this aromatic saddle is revealed by the single crystal X-ray crystallography, and its stereodynamics are studied with density functional theory calculations.