While the concept of aromaticity is being more and more precisely delineated, the category of "aromatic compounds" is being more and more expanded. This is illustrated by an introductory highlight of the various types of "aromaticity" previously invoked, and by a focus on the recently proposed "aromatic character" of the "two-membered rings" of the acetylene and butatriene molecules. This serves as a general foundation for the definition of "carbo-aromaticity", the relevance of which is surveyed through recent results in the synthetic, physical, and theoretical chemistry of carbo-mers and in particular macrocyclic-polycyclic representatives constituting a natural family of "novel aromatic compounds". With respect to their parent molecules, carbo-mers are constitutionally defined as "carbon-enriched", and can also be functionally regarded as "π-electron-enriched". This is exemplified by recent experimental and theoretical results on functional, aromatic, rigid, σ,π-macrocyclic carbo-benzene archetypes of various substitution patterns, with emphasis on the quadrupolar pattern. For the purpose of comparison, several types of non-aromatic references of carbo-benzenes are then considered, i.e. freely rotating σ,π-acyclic carbo-n-butadienes and flexible σ-cyclic, π-acyclic carbo-cyclohexadienes, and to "pro-aromatic" congeners, i.e. rigid σ,π-macrocyclic carbo-quinoids. It is shown that functional carbo-mers are entering the field of "molecular materials" for properties such as linear or nonlinear optical properties (e.g. dichromism and two-photon absorption) and single molecule conductivity. Since total or partial carbo-mers of aromatic carbon-allotropes of infinite size such as graphene (graphynes and graphdiynes) and graphite ("graphitynes") have long been addressed at the theoretical or conceptual level, recent predictive advances on the electrical, optical and mechanical properties of such carbo-materials are surveyed. Very preliminary experimental results on a carbo-benzenoid fragment are finally disclosed.

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Aromaticity enhancement is a possible driving force for the low reduction potentials of buta-1,3-diynediyl-expanded [N]radialenes: this hypothesis is theoretically analyzed for the expanded [3]radialene prototype. This study is undertaken within a more general prospect, namely the evaluation of the variation of aromaticity with endocyclic and peripheral carbomeric expansion of [3]radialene and its mono- and dianions. The structures, denoted as [C-H](6) (h)[C-C](3) (k)carbo-[3]radialene(q) (h=0, 1; k=0, 1, 2; q=0, -1, -2), were optimized in relevant singlet, doublet, or triplet spin states at the B3PW91/6-31G** level. They were found to be all planar. The structural aromaticity was measured through the average bond length d(av) over the [C-C](3) (k)carbo-[3]radialene core, and by the corresponding bond-length equalization parameter sigma(d), related to Krygowski's GEO. The magnetic aromaticity was measured by Schleyer's NICS values at the center of the rings. Regarding the relative variation of NICS and sigma(d), two classes of species can be distinguished according to their endocyclic expansion level. The species with a nonexpanded (k=0) or doubly expanded (k=2) ring constitute the first class: they exhibit D(3h) symmetry and a strong correlation of NICS with sigma(d). The species with a singly expanded ring (k=1) fall far from the correlation line, and constitute the second class. This class distinction is related to the degeneracy scheme of the frontier orbitals of the neutral representative. A finer appraisal of the electron (de)localization is brought by the ELF (Electron Localization Function) analysis of the electron density. It allows for a weighting of relevant resonance forms. Unsubstituted species are well described by the superimposition of two or three resonance forms. For (doublet spin state) monoanionic species, their respective weights are validated by comparison with AIM spin density. The weighted mean, n, of the formal numbers of paired pi(z) electrons in the resonance forms was calculated and compared with the closest even integer of either forms 4m+2 or 4m. A density-based continuous generalization of the orbital-based discrete Hückel rule is then heuristically proposed through an analytical correlation of NICS versus sigma(d), n, and S, the spin of the species. The frontier-orbital-degeneracy pattern of neutral species is discussed with respect to structural and magnetic aromaticity criteria. A decreasing HOMO-LUMO gap versus endocyclic expansion is obtained, but [C-C](3) (1)carbo-[3]radialene possesses the highest HOMO and LUMO energies. Vertical and adiabatic electron affinities of neutral and monoanionic species were also computed and compared with related experimental data.

The coordinating properties of the diaminocarbene (A) and phosphonium ylide (B) ligand types have been investigated systematically through a test family of C,C-chelating ligands containing two moieties of either kind. The overall character of o-C6H4A(a)B(b) ligands (a + b = 2) has been analyzed from the IR CO stretching frequencies of isostructural complexes [(eta(2)-C6H4A(a)B(b))Rh(CO)2][TfO]. The test moieties A = NC2H2N(+)(Me)C(-) and B = Ph2P(+)CH2(-) were first considered. While the ligands bearing at least one diaminocarbene end (AA, a = 2 and AB, a = 1) could be generated (and trapped by complexation), the bis-ylide case BB (a = 0) proved to be awkward: treatment of the dication C6H4(P(+)Ph2Me)2 with n-BuLi indeed lead to the Schmidbaur's carbodiphosphorane Ph3PCPPh2Me, through an unprecendented ylido-pentacoordinated phosphorane which could be fully characterized by NMR techniques. The bis-ylide ligand type C6H4B2 could however be generated by bridging the phosphonium methyl groups by a methylene link (B2 = (P(+)Ph2CH(-))2CH2), preventing the formation of the analogous highly strained carbodiphosphorane. The three complexes [(eta(2)-C6H4A(a)B(b))Rh(CO)2][TfO] were fully characterized, including by X-ray diffraction analysis and (103)Rh NMR spectroscopy. Comparison of their IR spectra indicated that the A2 type bis-NHC ligand is less donating than the hybrid AB type, which is itself less donating than the B2 type bis-ylide ligand. The excellent linear variation of the nu(CO) frequencies vs a (= 0, 1, 2) shows that the coordinating moieties act in a pseudoindependent way. This was confirmed by DFT calculations at the B3PW91/6-31G**/LANL2DZ*(Rh) level. It is therefore demonstrated that a phosphonium ylide ligand is a stronger donor than a diaminocarbene ligand.

The aromaticity and homoaromaticity in ring carbomers of [N]annulenes and [N]cycloalkanes (i.e., [N]pericyclynes) are investigated using the topological analysis of the electron localization function (ELF). In a qualitative viewpoint, the ELF picture of aromaticity in carbo[N]annulenes is systematically “expanded” with respect to those of the parent [N]annulenes. The ELF analysis allows us to evaluate the weight of the various resonance forms of carbo[N]annulenes corresponding to (i) out-of-plane cyclic π electron delocalization and (ii) in-plane cyclic π electron homodelocalization. The latter is also quantified for the parent [N]pericyclynes. The chemical relevance of this evaluation is discussed by comparison with Bader's atoms-in-molecules topological analysis of the electron density and Hückel analysis. New criteria of homoaromaticity based on ELF analysis are proposed and further illustrated on the archetypes of homoaromaticity such as the homotropenylium cation and the cyclopropylcarbinyl cation.

Reductive treatment of stereoisomeric mixtures of variously substituted hexaoxy[6]pericyclynes with SnCl(2)/HCl led to the corresponding substituted carbo-benzenes. Tetramethoxyhexaphenyl[6]pericylynediol and dimethoxyhexaphenyl[6]pericyclynetetrol thus proved to be alternative precursors of hexaphenyl-carbo-benzene, previously described. Another hexaaryl-carbo-benzenic chromophore with 4-pyridyl and 4-anisyl substituents was targeted for its second-order nonlinear optical properties and was obtained by aromatization of a dimethoxy[6]pericyclynetetrol. Two alkynyl substituents in para positions were also found to be compatible with the C(18) carbo-benzene ring, provided that the four remaining vertices are substituted by phenyl groups. In the protected series, bis(trimethylsilylethynyl)hexaphenyl-carbo-benzene (C(18)Ph(4)(C triple bond C-TMS)(2)) could be isolated and fully characterized, even by X-ray crystallography. In the bis-terminal series, the diethynylhexaphenyl-carbo-benzene C(18)Ph(4)(C triple bond C-H)(2) could not be isolated in the pure form. It could, however, be generated by two different methods and identified by the corresponding (1)H NMR spectra. Unsubstituted carbo-benzene C(18)H(6) remains unknown, but tetraphenyl-carbo-benzenes C(18)Ph(4)H(2) with two unsubstituted vertices proved to be viable molecules. Whereas the "para" isomer could be characterized by MS and (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy only in a mixture with polymeric materials, the "ortho" isomer (with adjacent CH vertices) could be isolated, and its structure was determined by using X-ray crystallography. The structure calculated at the B3PW91/6-31G** level of theory turned out to be in excellent agreement with the experimental structure. The (1)H and (13)C NMR chemical shifts of hexa- and tetraphenyl-carbo-benzenes were also calculated at the B3LYP/6-31+G** level of theory and were found to correlate with experimental spectra. The remote NMR deshielding of peripheral protons (through up to five bonds) revealed a very strong diatropic circulation around the C(18) ring, regardless of the substitution pattern. In full agreement with theoretical investigations, it has been demonstrated experimentally that the carbo-benzene ring is "independently" aromatic, in accord with structural-energetic and -magnetic criteria.

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In the framework of HAIC European project, a capability for modeling glaciated and mixed-phase ice accretion has been added to IGLOO2D, the new ONERA 2D icing suite. A first set of models has been introduced for taking into account physical phenomena which are generally not considered for classical icing conditions: particle shape influence on the drag force, heat exchange between air and particles, melting and evaporation phenomena, complex particle interactions with dry and wetted walls, liquid film dynamics, influence of ice crystals on energy balance … To assess this new capability, test cases have been performed for mixed-phase ice accretion using results from the NASA-NRC experimental database 3,4 .