Frontispiece: Synthesis and Structure of a Longitudinally Twisted Hexacene

Abstract

Much like aiming for a bullseye, this twistahexacene has been a synthetic target since it was predicted to possess a twist of 178° 20 years ago. In fact, X‐ray analysis has confirmed this target has a twist of 184°—the largest reported so far—and contains the most twisted anthracene (96.4°), tetracene (128.1°), and pentacene (159.2°) units. Unlike its predecessors, which were synthesized by benzyne chemistry, it has been synthesized through a “quinone” approach in 30 % yield. The frontispiece graphic was designed by Melanie Lerma and the authors. For the full story see the Communication by K. V. Kilway and colleagues on page 3113 ff.