Sinusene

Sinusene is a term encountered in speculative chemistry and science fiction to describe a hypothetical polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) whose fused benzene rings follow a sinusoidal path rather than a flat, planar arrangement. It is not a defined compound in mainstream chemical literature.

Name origin: The term combines sinus, referring to a sine wave, with the common hydrocarbon suffix -ene, signaling a hydrocarbon framework with extended conjugation.

Concept and structure: In typical descriptions, sinusene consists of a chain of six-membered rings connected along a sinusoidal backbone, yielding a curved, potentially nonplanar geometry as the number of rings increases. The concept is used to explore how curvature influences conjugation and aromaticity in PAHs.

Properties and behavior: As a theoretical construct, sinusene’s electronic structure is discussed in terms of extended pi-conjugation and potential tunable optical properties. Hypothetical properties include altered ultraviolet-visible absorption, possible changes in electronic transport, and stability that depends on the precise fusion pattern. No experimental data exist to verify these ideas.

Synthesis and use: There are no reported laboratory syntheses of sinusene in peer‑reviewed work; it appears mainly in thought experiments and speculative worldbuilding to illustrate curvature effects on PAHs and related carbon nanostructures. In fiction, it may be described as a nanocarbon fragment or a target for advanced synthetic chemistry.

See also: Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, curvature in carbon nanostructures, nanographene.