Triple-Stranded Polymeric Ladderphanes

The first triple-stranded polymeric ladderphanes 6 with multilayer planar oligoaryl linkers having C-3 symmetry are synthesized by Grubbs I catalyst-mediated ring-opening metathesis of tris-norbornene derivatives 5. All linkers are coherently aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the polymer. Interactions between these linkers lead to fluorescence quenching or perturbation of frontier orbitals, resulting in shift of the emission maximum. These triple-stranded polymeric ladderphanes tend to self-assemble to form an ordered pattern as revealed by TMAFM.