A staffane or staffane is an organic compound, a polycyclic hydrocarbon with molecular structure H-n-H, for some integer n ≥ 1. The chemical formula is therefore C5nH6n+2
Staffanes were first obtained in 1988 by Piotr Kaszyński and Josef Michl, by spontaneous polymerization of -propellane C5H6 or C2(=CH2)3. In the reaction, the axial C-C bond of the propellane (the "bridge") is broken, creating a free bond on each of the two axial carbons (the "bridgeheads"). The resulting structural unit is a rigid cage, consisting of two carbon atoms joined by three methylene bridges; therefore the joined units are constrained to lie on a straight line. This feature has generated substantial interest among nanotechnology researchers, who have considered staffane oligomers as convenient "rigid rods" for building all sorts of nanostructures.
An oligomer with a specific number n of units is denoted by staffane (e.g., staffane, staffane, etc..) The notation staffane is used when the number of units is variable or unspecified; in this case the "n" in the brackets is not a variable, but the letter "n", considered part of the name.
References
- "Nowa Nauka Polska".
- "» Kaszyński Piotr".
- "Piotr Kaszyński".
- ^ Kaszynski, Piotr.; Michl, Josef. (1988). "[n]Staffanes: A molecular-size "Tinkertoy" construction set for nanotechnology. Preparation of end-functionalized telomers and a polymer of [1.1.1]propellane". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 110 (15): 5225–5226. doi:10.1021/ja00223a070.