Understanding aromaticity in benzene ring is critical for understanding organic mechanisms involving this ubiquitous chemical group.

Researchers at Sheffield University, UK, investigated the effect on ring current in aromatic and antiaromatic rings of vibration to show how aromaticity or antiaromaticity change, revealing by how much the archetypal aromatic molecule, benzene, deviates from the norm as its conformation changes. The results are compared with those from the archetypal antiaromatic
compound cyclooctatetraene and the non-aromatic borazine to offer insights into ring current effects.

• Effect on Ring Current of the Kekulé Vibration in Aromatic and Antiaromatic Rings,
  David E. Bean and Patrick W. Fowler,
  J. Phys. Chem. A 2011.
  DOI: 10.1021/jp2077424