High-pressure, high-temperature synthesis of nanostructured polydiphenylbutadiyne confined in the 1-dimensional pores of single crystal AlPO4-54

The pi-conjugated polymer polydiphenylbutadiyne was prepared at the nanoscale confined inside the 1.2 nm 1-D pores of the aluminophosphate AlPO4-54. Molten 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-dibutadiyne (DPB) was inserted in the pores of AlPO4-54 at pressures below 0.3 GPa as confirmed by X-ray diffraction. Heating to 190 degrees C under a pressure of 0.4 GPa induced polymerization of DPB in the pores. Infrared microscopy indicates full polymerization in the pores and the presence of characteristic saturated C-H defects common to other nanostructured PDPB materials exhibiting important photocatalytic properties. This nanostructured PDPB confined in the hygroscopic AlPO4-54 host could be of interest for applications in gas sensing, photocatalysis and hydrogen generation.

Automated summary

In this study, pi-conjugated polymer polydiphenylbutadiyne (PDPB) was prepared inside the 1.2 nm pores of aluminophosphate AlPO4-54 at the nanoscale. The confined PDPB exhibited complete polymerization and showed important photocatalytic properties and gas sensing capabilities.