The interplay between aromaticity and antiaromaticity is maximized in [n]phenylenes. In their smaller isomer sets, some isomers can be aromatic while others can be antiaromatic. The sum of the superimposed constituent circuits contributes to the individual ring aromaticity. Both cyclic conjugated energy (CCEi = efi ) of Bosanac and Gutman and Aihara’s topological bond resonance energy (t-BRE) are good measures of relative degree of ring aromatic/antiaromatic character. Topological resonance energy (TRE) is a reliable measure of global molecular aromaticity/antiaromaticity because it is independent of selection of frame-of-reference molecules for calibration
