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Abstract: Fries and Clar numbers are qualitative indicators of stability in conjugated π systems. For a given Kekulé structure, call any hexagon that contains three double bonds benzenoid. The Fries number is the maximum number of benzenoid hexagons, whereas the Clar number is the maximum number of independent benzenoid hexagons, in each case taken over all Kekulé structures. A Kekulé structure that realises the Fries (Clar) number is a Fries (Clar) structure. For benzenoids, it is not known whether every Fries structure is also a Clar structure. For fullerenes C_n, it is known that some Clar structures in large examples correspond to no Fries structure. We show that Fries structures that are not Clar occur early: examples where some Fries structure is not Clar start at C_34, and examples where no Fries structure is Clar start at C_48. Hence, it is unsafe to use fullerene Fries structures as routes to Clar number. However, Fries structures often describe the neutral fullerene better than a Clar structure, e.g. in rationalising bond lengths in the experimental isomer of C_60. Conversely, an extension of Clar sextet theory suggests the notion of anionic Clar number for fullerene anions, where both pentagons and hexagons may support sextets.
Keywords: chemical graph theory, fullerenes, benzenoids, Clar, Fries, Kekule, perfect matching
Published in RUP: 22.12.2025; Views: 253; Downloads: 2
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