Benzenoids are graphs representing the carbon structure of molecules, defined by a closed path in the hexagonal lattice. These compounds are of interest to chemists studying existing and potential carbon structures. The goal of this study is to conjecture and prove relations between graph theoretic properties among benzenoids. First, we generate conjectures on upper bounds for the domination number in benzenoids using invariant-defined functions. This work is an extension of the ideas to be presented in a forthcoming paper. Next, we generate conjectures using property-defined functions. As the title indicates, the conjectures we prove are not thought of on our own, rather generated by a process of automated conjecture-making. This program, named Cᴏɴᴊᴇᴄᴛᴜʀɪɴɢ, is developed by Craig Larson and Nico Van Cleemput.

A la suite de nombreuses illustrations et validations au niveau fondamental, la chimie de molécules carbo-mères s'est récemment orientée vers des cibles fonctionnelles en termes de perspectives d'applications (" carbo-matériaux " moléculaires). C'est ainsi que de telles molécules expansées en carbone ont récemment montré des propriétés remarquables dans les domaines de la conductivité sur molécule unique (SMC) ou de l'absorption à deux photons (TPA). La considération de cibles de types fondamentalement nouveaux " reste cependant nécessaire en préliminaire à l'étude de propriétés nouvelles aussi. Le travail décrit dans ce manuscrit présente essentiellement les résultats concernant la synthèse de carbo-quinoïdes et de carbo-benzénoïdes, deux types de structures carbo-mères qui n'avaient jamais été envisagées expérimentalement auparavant. Le premier chapitre est un résumé bibliographique décrivant notamment la synthèse et les propriétés de molécules carbo-mères aromatiques, et plus généralement hautement pi-conjuguées (carbo-benzènes, carbo-cyclohexadiènes, carbo-oligoacétylènes...) Le second chapitre porte sur l'étude complète des trois régioisomères, " ortho ", " para ", et " meta " du tétraphényl-carbo-benzène, dont les deux premiers représentants avaient été partiellement décrits. Le troisième chapitre décrit la synthèse et l'étude du premier exemple de carbo-quinoïde, ainsi que sa transformation rédox réversible en carbo-benzènes, illustrant ainsi la " pro-aromaticité redox " des carbo-quinoïdes vis-à-vis de leurs analogues oxydés carbo-benzènes. Le quatrième et dernier chapitre est consacré à la synthèse et l'étude d'un carbo-benzénoïde, le carbo-naphtalène, pouvant être considéré comme le plus petit fragment polycyclique condensé d'alpha-graphyne, un matériau largement étudié au niveau théorique mais encore inconnu expérimentalement à ce jour. Les propriétés physico-chimiques et spectroscopiques de carbo-naphtalène sont comparées à celle du carbo-benzène monocyclique correspondant, dont la synthèse est aussi détaillée. / Following numerous illustrations and validations at the fundamental level, the chemistry of carbo-meric molecules was recently directed towards functional targets in terms of application prospects (molecular "carbo-materials'). Such carbon-expanded molecules have indeed recently been shown to exhibit remarkable properties in the areas of single molecule conductivity (SMC) or two-photon absorption efficiency (TPA). The consideration of target of fundamentally "new types" remains necessary in view of the study of new properties as well. The work described in this manuscript focus mainly on results concerning the synthesis of carbo-quinoids and carbo-benzenoids, two types of carbo-meric structures that had not been considered hitherto. The first chapter is a bibliographic summary describing the synthesis and properties of carbo-meric molecules, either aromatic or, more generally, highly pi-conjugated (carbo-benzenes, carbo-cyclohexadienes, carbo-oligoacetylenes...) The second chapter focuses on the complete study of the three regioisomers, "ortho", "para" and "meta" of tetraphenyl-carbo-benzene, the first two representatives having been partly described previously. The third chapter describes the synthesis and study of the first example of carbo-quinoid and its reversible redox transformation to carbo-benzenes, illustrating the "redox pro-aromaticity" of carbo-quinoid with respect to their oxidized carbo-benzenic analogues. The fourth and final chapter is devoted to the synthesis and study of a carbo-benzenoid, carbo-naphthalene, which can be regarded as the smallest condensed polycyclic fragment of alpha-graphyne, a material widely studied at the theoretical level but remaining unknown experimentally to date. The physicochemical and spectroscopic properties of carbo-naphthalene are compared to that of the corresponding monocyclic carbo-benzene, the synthesis of which is also detailed.

Pine weevils cause major damage to newly planted conifer seedlings in reforestation areas. However, recent findings indicate that small (“mini”) seedlings, planted at the age of 7-10 weeks, are gnawed less by pine weevils than the larger, conventionally planted seedlings. Thus, it has been proposed that planting young conifer seedlings in clear-cut areas may reduce the damage caused by pine weevils. In attempts to determine why mini seedlings appear to be less damaged by pine weevils than “conventional” seedlings, the volatiles released by Norway spruce and Scots pine mini seedlings were investigated, since such chemicals are of great importance in herbivore-plant communication, inter alia acting as repellents, attractants or antifeedants. Volatiles from the seedlings were collected, separated and identified by solid phase microextraction (SPME) followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results show that there are high levels of chemodiversity among both spruce and pine seedlings. Between-tissue and age-related variations in their emissions were also found. Norway spruce clones infested by mites were also examined to assess genotype- and pest-specific stress reactions of Norway spruce. Finally, the effects of certain spruce defense compounds on the behavior of the large pine weevil Hylobius abietis were examined. / QC 20100818