Tetrabenzo-Chichibabin's hydrocarbons: substituent effects and unusual thermochromic and thermomagnetic behaviours.

Open-shell π-conjugated compounds have recently received intense attention due to their unique properties and promising applications in materials science. However, the experiments on how the substituents affect their chemical bonding and structural motif remain less addressed. In this work, a series of tetrabenzo-Chichibabin's hydrocarbon (TBC) derivatives substituted by different electron-donating or -withdrawing groups at the termini were synthesized.