[2.2]Paracyclophanes in Polymer Chemistry and Materials Science

After a long period as model compounds in basic research [2.2]paracyclophanes are quickly gaining in practical importance. They can be incorporated into numerous polymeric systems in which they either lose (the so-called Parylenes) or retain their layered structure, and they can be used for the construction of unsaturated molecular scaffolds characterized not only by conventional (lateral) pi-electron overlap but also by cofacial pi-electron interactions. Surfaces generated from and with [2.2]paracyclophanes possess interesting biological, photophysical, and optoelectronic properties.