| Summary: | Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2010. Chemistry Includes bibliographical references. A molecular belt is considered to be an assembly of atoms that has two continuous, nonintersecting edges and a width that is small in relation to its circumference. Molecular belts having surfaces consisting entirely of a polycyclic aromatic framework are referred to "aromatic belts". -- Aromatic belts have stood as challenging synthetic targets for many years. Several approaches to synthesize aromatic belts have been reported. To date, no aromatic belts has been successfully synthesized rationally by assembling small building blocks. -- Bodwell's group has developed a method, valence isomerization followed by dehydrogenation (VID), which can accomplish the formation of highly nonplanar (and thus strained) pyrene units. -- A strategy for the synthesis of cyclophenacene-type aromatic belts (or armchair SWNCT segments) that relies upon a VID reaction is described, and progress toward achieving this goal is presented.
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