Forever young: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as model cases for structural and optical studies

JOURNAL:  Journal of Physical Organic Chemistry
AUTHORS: R. Rieger, K. Müllen
SUMMARY: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are popular research subjects due to their high stability, their rigid planar structure, and their characteristic optical spectra. The recent discovery of graphene, which can be regarded as giant PAH, has further stimulated the interest in this area. For this reason, the relationship between the geometric and electronic structure and the optical spectra of PAHs are reviewed, pointing out the versatile properties of this class of molecules. The presented research results shall encourage developments of new PAH structures to exploit novel materials properties. 

CULTURAL REFERENCE: Forever Young is a song from German rock group Alphaville's 1984 debut album of the same name. The single was a strong hit in Scandinavia and in the European German-speaking countries

Scientific paper

Song