annulene

thumb|upright=1.4|Structure and [[Atomic force microscopy|AFM image of a hexadehydrotribenzo[12]annulene]] Annulenes are monocyclic hydrocarbons that contain the maximum number of non-cumulated or conjugated double bonds ('mancude'), and their derivatives. They have the general formula CnHn (when n is an even number) or CnHn+1 (when n is an odd number). The IUPAC accepts the use of 'annulene nomenclature' in naming carbocyclic ring systems with 7 or more carbon atoms, using the name '[n]annulene' for the mancude hydrocarbon with n carbon atoms in its ring, though in certain contexts (e.g., discussions of aromaticity for different ring sizes), smaller rings (n = 3 to 6) can also be informally referred to as annulenes. Using this form of nomenclature 1,3,5,7-cyclooctatetraene is [8]annulene and benzene is [6]annulene (and occasionally referred to as just 'annulene').

The discovery that [18]annulene possesses a number of key properties associated with other aromatic molecules was an important development in the understanding of aromaticity as a chemical concept.