Chicken wire (chemistry) explained

In chemistry, the term chicken wire is used in different contexts. Most of them relate to the similarity of the regular hexagonal (honeycomb-like) patterns found in certain chemical compounds to the mesh structure commonly seen in real chicken wire.

Examples

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons or graphenes - including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, and graphite - have a hexagonal structure that is often described as chicken wire-like.^{[1] [2] [3]}

Hexagonal molecular structures

A hexagonal structure that is often described as chicken wire-like can also be found in other types of chemical compounds such as:

• Non-aromatic polycyclic hydrocarbons, e.g. steroids like cholesterol^[4]
• Flat hexagonal hydrogen bonded trimesic acid (benzene-1,3,5-tricarboxylic acid),^[5] boric acid, or melamine-cyanuric acid complexes^[6]
• Interwoven molecule chains in the inorganic polymer NaAuS^[7]
• Complexes of the protein clathrin^[8]

Additional information

Bond line notation

The skeletal formula is a method to draw structural formulas of organic compounds where lines represent the chemical bonds and the vertices represent implicit carbon atoms.^[9] This notation is sometimes jestingly called chicken wire notation.^{[10] [11] [12]}

Chemical joke

It is an old joke in chemistry to draw a polycyclic hexagonal chemical structure and call this fictional compound chickenwire. By adding one or two simple chemical groups to this skeleton, the compound can then be named following the official chemical naming convention. An example is:

• 1,2-Dimethyl-chickenwire in a cartoon by Nick D. Kim

Surface plots

In computational chemistry a chicken wire model or chicken wire surface plot is a way to visualize molecular models by drawing the polygon mesh of their surface (defined e.g. as the van der Waals radius or a certain electron density). ^[13]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Soccerballs . Calpoly.edu . 2013-11-24.
2. Web site: General Chemistry Online: Glossary . Antoine.frostburg.edu . 2013-11-24.
3. Web site: Space Chemicals: Scientific American . Sciam.com . 2013-11-24.
4. Web site: Get Healthy...Get Smart . Gethealthygetsmart.com . 2013-11-24 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120717052743/http://www.gethealthygetsmart.com/articles/cholesterol_excess_fat.asp . 2012-07-17 .
5. Structural details of carboxylic acid-based Hydrogen-bonded Organic Frameworks (HOFs). December 26, 2023 . Suzuki. Yuto. Histaki. Ichiro. Polymer Journal. 56. 12 October 2023.
6. Andrew D. Burrows. 2004. Crystal Engineering Using Multiple Hydrogen Bonds. Structure and Bonding. 108. 55–96. 0081-5993 . 10.1007/b14137. 978-3-540-20084-0.
7. 11670705 . 37 . 21 . Flux Synthesis of LiAuS and NaAuS: "Chicken-Wire-Like" Layer Formation by Interweaving of (AuS)(n)(n)(-) Threads. Comparison with alpha-HgS and AAuS (A K, Rb) . October 1998 . Inorg Chem . 5583–5587 . 10.1021/ic980360b . Axtell Ea . 3rd . Liao . JH . Kanatzidis . MG.
8. http://bio.winona.msus.edu/wilson/cell%20biology/unit3revANSWER.doc{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
9. http://www.usm.maine.edu/~newton/Chy251_253/Lectures/LewisStructures/LewisStructures.html Template
10. Web site: Chem 32 Virtual Manual . Kalee.tock.com . 2013-11-24.
11. Web site: Stereochemistry and Chirality Part I Problems . Kalee.tock.com . 1995-11-07 . 2013-11-24.
12. Web site: Chem 32 Virtual Manual . Kalee.tock.com . 2013-11-24.
13. Web site: MolScript v2.1: Interface to external objects . Avatar.se . 2013-11-24 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130722054808/http://www.avatar.se/molscript/doc/interface.html . 2013-07-22 . dead .