Abstract A new class of propel-ler-shaped compound (4), which consisted of dehydrobenzo [14] annulene ([14] DBA) blades, as well as its naphtho homologues (5 and 6), have been prepared. Although NMR studies of compound 4 did not provide useful information regarding its conformation in solution, DFT calculations with different functionals and the 6- 31G* basis set all indicated that the D 3-symmetric structure was energetically more ...