Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Single-Crystal Polycationic Polymers Obtained by Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Photopolymerization

Journal Article · · Journal of the American Chemical Society
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b13790· OSTI ID:1603945
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [5];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [4];  [6];  [4] more »;  [2];  [7] « less
  1. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States); University of Notre Dame
  2. Univ. of California, Santa Cruz, CA (United States)
  3. Westlake Univ., Hangzhou (China)
  4. Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
  5. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
  6. Tianjin Univ. (China)
  7. Tianjin Univ. (China); Univ. of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW (Australia); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)

The efficient preparation of single-crystalline ionic polymers and fundamental understanding of their structure–property relationships at the molecular level remains a challenge in chemistry and materials science. Herein, we observe the single-crystal structure of a highly ordered polycationic polymer (polyelectrolyte) and its proton conductivity. The polyelectrolyte single crystals can be prepared on a gram-scale in quantitative yield, by taking advantage of an ultraviolet/sunlight-induced topochemical polymerization, from a tricationic monomer—a self-complementary building block possessing a preorganized conformation. A single-crystal-to-single-crystal photopolymerization was revealed unambiguously by in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, which was also employed to follow the progression of molecular structure from the monomer, to a partially polymerized intermediate, and, finally, to the polymer itself. Collinear polymer chains are held together tightly by multiple Coulombic interactions involving counterions to form two-dimensional lamellar sheets (1 nm in height) with sub-nanometer pores (5 Å). The polymer is extremely stable under 254 nm light irradiation and high temperature (above 500 K). The extraordinary mechanical strength and environmental stability—in combination with its impressive proton conductivity (~3 × 10–4 S cm–1)—endow the polymer with potential applications as a robust proton-conducting material. By marrying supramolecular chemistry with macromolecular science, the outcome represents a major step toward the controlled synthesis of single-crystalline polyelectrolyte materials with perfect tacticity.

Research Organization:
Univ. of Notre Dame, IN (United States); Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Northwestern Univ., Evanston, IL (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA); Army Research Office (ARO); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC)
Grant/Contract Number:
NA0003763; AC02-05CH11231; FG02-08ER15967
OSTI ID:
1603945
Journal Information:
Journal of the American Chemical Society, Journal Name: Journal of the American Chemical Society Journal Issue: 13 Vol. 142; ISSN 0002-7863
Publisher:
American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

References (47)

Host-Guest Chemistry Aids and Abets a Stereospecific Photodimerization in the Solid State journal November 2001
A Synthetic Receptor Selective for Citrate journal May 1997
Photochemical Synthesis of Polyrotaxanes from Stilbene Polymers and Cyclodextrins journal December 1997
Diastereospecific Photochemical Dimerization of a Stilbene-Containing Daisy Chain Monomer in Solution as well as in the Solid State journal March 2003
Reversible Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Photochemical Formation and Thermal Cleavage of a Cyclobutane Ring journal January 2014
Supramolecular Control of Photocycloadditions in Solution: In Situ Stereoselective Synthesis and Release of Cyclobutanes journal March 2019
Polymer Networks: From Plastics and Gels to Porous Frameworks journal March 2020
A Hierarchical Nanoporous Diamondoid Superstructure journal September 2019
Comparative analysis on the nanoindentation of polymers using atomic force microscopy journal February 2010
Supramolecular Photochemistry as a Potential Synthetic Tool: Photocycloaddition journal June 2016
Supramolecular Control of Reactivity in the Solid State: From Templates to Ladderanes to Metal−Organic Frameworks journal February 2008
Crystal and Molecular Simulation of High-Performance Polymers journal March 2000
Photopolymerization of diolefin crystals journal October 1983
Alternative Polymer Systems for Proton Exchange Membranes (PEMs) journal October 2004
The Topochemical 1,6-Polymerization of a Triene journal September 2002
Slow Anion Exchange, Conformational Equilibria, and Fluorescent Sensing in Venus Flytrap Aminopyridinium-Based Anion Hosts journal August 2003
Role of Cation−π Interactions in the Photodimerization of trans -4-Styrylpyridines journal October 2007
Cation−π Controlled Solid-State Photodimerization of 4-Azachalcones journal February 2009
A Two-Dimensional Polymer Synthesized through Topochemical [2 + 2]-Cycloaddition on the Multigram Scale journal January 2017
Topochemical Synthesis of Single-Crystalline Hydrogen-Bonded Cross-Linked Organic Frameworks and Their Guest-Induced Elastic Expansion journal June 2019
How Does Nanoscale Crystalline Structure Affect Ion Transport in Solid Polymer Electrolytes? journal June 2014
Water Desalination across Nanoporous Graphene journal June 2012
Nanocomposite polymer electrolytes for lithium batteries journal July 1998
Ionic conductivity in crystalline polymer electrolytes journal August 2001
A two-dimensional polymer prepared by organic synthesis journal February 2012
A positive future for squid proteins journal June 2014
Gram-scale synthesis of two-dimensional polymer crystals and their structure analysis by X-ray diffraction journal July 2014
A nanoporous two-dimensional polymer by single-crystal-to-single-crystal photopolymerization journal July 2014
Aggregation and morphology control enables multiple cases of high-efficiency polymer solar cells journal November 2014
High-yield production of graphene by liquid-phase exfoliation of graphite journal August 2008
Efficient inverted polymer solar cells employing favourable molecular orientation journal May 2015
Solid-state polymer electrolytes with in-built fast interfacial transport for secondary lithium batteries journal March 2019
Self-assembled highly ordered acid layers in precisely sulfonated polyethylene produce efficient proton transport journal May 2018
Solid-state reactivity and structural transformations involving coordination polymers journal January 2013
Crystal engineering of topochemical solid state reactions journal January 2013
A facile, stereoselective [2 + 2] photoreaction mediated by cucurbit[8]uril journal January 2001
Mechanical properties of hybrid inorganic–organic framework materials: establishing fundamental structure–property relationships journal January 2011
Novel fluorinated amino-stilbenes and their solid-state photodimerization journal January 2010
Molecular mechanisms for proton transport in membranes. journal January 1978
Photochemical Single-Crystal-To-Single-Crystal Dimerizations and Polymerizations
  • Buchholz, Vera; Enkelmann, Volker
  • Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals Science and Technology. Section A. Molecular Crystals and Liquid Crystals, Vol. 356, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1080/10587250108023711
journal February 2001
Proton conductivity in ampullae of Lorenzini jelly journal May 2016
Preparation of Poly(diiododiacetylene), an Ordered Conjugated Polymer of Carbon and Iodine journal May 2006
Single-Crystal Linear Polymers Through Visible Light-Triggered Topochemical Quantitative Polymerization journal January 2014
Single-crystal x-ray diffraction structures of covalent organic frameworks journal July 2018
Photodimerization in the solid state journal January 1971
Proton conductivity of glycosaminoglycans journal March 2019
An improved technique for determining hardness and elastic modulus using load and displacement sensing indentation experiments journal June 1992


Similar Records

High-fidelity topochemical polymerization in single crystals, polycrystals, and solution aggregates
Journal Article · Sat Apr 12 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Nature Communications · OSTI ID:2555864

Effect of metal/dielectric substrates on photopolymerization of BITh thin films
Journal Article · Tue Nov 08 23:00:00 EST 2022 · Scientific Reports · OSTI ID:1897589