Soluble and Processable Single-Crystalline Cationic Polymers

Yang Liu, Xin Ru Guan, Duan Chao Wang, J. Fraser Stoddart*, Qing Hui Guo*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Single-crystal-to-single-crystal (SCSC) polymerization offers an effective protocol for the environmentally friendly preparation of polymer single crystals (PSCs) with extremely high crystallinity and very large molecular weights. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD) serves as a powerful technique for the in-depth characterization of their structures at a molecular level. Hence, a fundamental understanding of the structure-property relationships of PSCs is within our reach. Most of the reported PSCs, however, suffer from poor solubility, a property which hampers their post-functionalization and solution processability when it comes to practical applications. Here, we report soluble and processable PSCs with rigid polycationic backbones by taking advantage of an ultraviolet-induced topochemical polymerization from an elaborately designed monomer that results in a multitude of photoinduced [2 + 2] cycloadditions. The high crystallinity and excellent solubility of the resulting polymeric crystals enable their characterization both in the solid state by X-ray crystallography and electron microscopy and in the solution phase by NMR spectroscopy. The topochemical polymerization follows first-order reaction kinetics to a first approximation. Post-functionalization of the PSCs by anion exchange renders them super-hydrophobic materials for water purification. Solution processability endows PSCs with excellent gel-like rheological properties. This research represents a major step towards the controlled synthesis and full characterization of soluble single-crystalline polymers, which may find application in the fabrication of PSCs with many different functions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)13223-13231
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of the American Chemical Society
Volume145
Issue number24
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 21 2023

Funding

Y.L., X.-R.G., D.-C.W., and Q.-H.G. gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (22193020 and 22193022), the Starry Night Science Fund of the ZJU Shanghai Institute for Advanced Study (SN-ZJU-SIAS-006), Zhejiang University (ZJU), and the ZJU-Hangzhou Global Scientific and Technological Innovation Center. J.F.S. acknowledges support from Northwestern University.

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Chemistry
  • Biochemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Colloid and Surface Chemistry

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Soluble and Processable Single-Crystalline Cationic Polymers'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this