Benzene historical perspective

Regarding a historical perspective on carbon nanotubes, very small diameter (less than 10 nm) carbon filaments were observed in the 1970 s through synthesis of vapor grown carbon fibers prepared by the decomposition of benzene at 1100°C in the presence of Fe catalyst particles of 10 nm diameter [11, 12]. However, no detailed systematic studies of such very thin filaments were reported in these early years, and it was not until lijima s observation of carbon nanotubes by high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) that the carbon nanotube field was seriously launched. A direct stimulus to the systematic study of carbon filaments of very small diameters came from the discovery of fullerenes by Kroto, Smalley, and coworkers [1], The realization that the terminations of the carbon nanotubes were fullerene-like caps or hemispheres explained why the smallest diameter carbon nanotube observed would be the same as the diameter of the Ceo molecule, though theoretical predictions suggest that nanotubes arc more stable than fullerenes of the same radius [13]. The lijima observation heralded the entry of many scientists into the field of carbon nanotubes, stimulated especially by the un-... 

The only difference between this formulation and that of benzene is the historical view of benzene as a single molecule with two "main" overlapping resonance structures that were sufficiently similar that they could be coalesced into a single mental construct. On the other hand, the chemical difference between an alcohol and a ketone make such a viewpoint seem strange, if not completely untenable. Only because of the introduction of an extended bond set does such a perspective become viable. 

Kipen HM, Cody RP, Goldstein BD. 1989. Use of longitudinal analysis of peripheral blood counts to validate historical reconstructions of benzene exposure. Environ Health Perspect 82 199-206. 

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