Nearly 50 years ago, DH Reid proposed that cyclopenta[a]phenalene (1) should constitute the prototype for a new class of novel nonalternant polycyclic aromatic compounds. 1 Cognizant of the exceptional stability of phenalenyl cations, Reid further predicted that this system should exhibit significant ground-state dipolar character in analogy to the well-known polar aromatic hydrocarbon azulene. While a number of theoretical studies have since confirmed Reid's ...
