Propellane
In organic chemistry, propellane is any member of a class of polycyclic hydrocarbons, whose carbon skeleton consists of three rings of carbon atoms sharing a common carbon–carbon covalent bond. The concept was introduced in 1966 by D. Ginsburg Propellanes with small cycles are highly strained and unstable, and are easily turned into polymers with interesting structures, such as staffanes. Partly for these reasons, they have been the object of much research. Nomenclature The name derives from a supposed resemblance of the molecule to a propeller: namely, the rings would be the propeller's blades, and the shared C–C bond would be its axis. The bond shared by the three cycles is usually called the "bridge"; the shared carbon atoms are then the "bridgeheads". The IUPAC nomenclature of the homologue series of all-carbon propellanes would be called tricyclo[x.y.z.01,(x+2)]alkane. More common in literature is the notation means the member of the family whose rings have x, y, and z carbons, not counting the two bridgeheads; or x + 2, y + 2, and z + 2 carbons, counting them. The chemical formula is therefore . The minimum value for x, y, and z is 1, meaning three fused cyclopropyl-rings forming the [1.1.1]propellane. There