Lopsided Benzene Sets A New Polarity Record

Chemists have made a new set of hexasubstituted benzenes in which electron-withdrawing cyano groups on one side of the ring and electron-donating amino groups on the other combine to pull and push the molecule’s electron density in the same direction. These compounds are remarkable for being the most polar neutral molecules now known to exist (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2016, DOI: 10.1002/anie.201508249). Organic molecules with large dipole moments are desirable for their ability to enhance . . .