Molecular electronics with molecules only composed of carbon and hydrogens (i.e., hydrocarbons) may be possible by combining the sp3 hybridized diamond with sp2 hybridized graphene carbon allotropes. This combination is mimicked through the combination of adamanantane, the parent of all diamondoids, with pyrene, which serves as a graphene model. The nonpolar components lead to a new, highly strained hydrocarbon (a slice through the mirror plane of the X-ray structure is shown in the picture) with a very large and optimally positioned dipole moment (blue arrow) needed for molecular rectification. This very large dipole moment arises from bending the pyrene moiety on the one side and the electron donor ability of the diamondoid on the other. We recently presented the synthesis, study of the electronic and optical properties as well as the dynamic behavior of this new and highly fascinating hydrocarbon. For details, please see: [2](1,3)Adamantano[2]-(2,7)pyrenophane, a Hydrocarbon with a Large Dipole Moment. Paul Kahl, Jan P. Wagner, Ciro Balestrieri, Jonathan Becker, Heike Hausmann, Graham J. Bodwell, and Peter R. Schreiner* Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.2016, 55, 9277–9281. DOI: 10.1002/anie.201602201.
