The nomenclature of fused-ring arenes and heterocycles: a guide to an increasingly important dialect of organic chemistry

Abstract

As a single system of chemical nomenclature is used worldwide, it is the universal language of chemistry and thus a critical component to effectively communicate with others in the field. Of course, in the same way that chemistry as a discipline covers a wide range of topics and classes of chemical compounds, the associated nomenclature of the field can also be subdivided into separate ‘dialects’, each of which addresses different classes of chemical species and contains its own set of specialized rules for the systemic naming of the included compounds. Polycyclic fused-ring arenes and heterocycles are classes of organic compounds that are finding growing importance in polymer chemistry, materials science, and pharmaceutical chemistry, yet the nomenclature of these compounds is rarely covered even in graduate texts and students are thus not taught how to apply this nomenclature as needed. As such, the current report aims to present the basic rules and application of fused-ring nomenclature such that one can apply it to most common cases.