title: Close-packed polymer crystals from two-monomer-connected precursors.
abstract: The design of crystalline polymers is intellectually stimulating and synthetically challenging, especially when the polymerization of any monomer occurs in a linear dimension. Such linear growth often leads to entropically driven chain entanglements and thus is detrimental to attempts to realize the full potential of conjugated molecular structures. Here we report the polymerization of two-monomer-connected precursors (TMCPs) in which two pyrrole units are linked through a connector, yielding highly crystalline polymers. The simultaneous growth of the TMCP results in a close-packed crystal in polypyrrole (PPy) at the molecular scale with either a hexagonal close-packed or face-centred cubic structure, as confirmed by high-voltage electron microscopy, and the structure that formed could be controlled by simply changing the connector. The electrical conductivity of the TMCP-based PPy is almost 35 times that of single-monomer-based PPy, demonstrating its promise for application in diverse fields.
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea.
authors.forename: Hong-Joon
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea.
authors.forename: Yong-Ryun
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Jo
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea.
authors.forename: Santosh
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4190-620X
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy Research, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), 169-148 Gwahak-ro, Yuseung-gu, Daejeon 34133, Korea.
authors.forename: Seung Jo
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Yoo
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy Research, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), 169-148 Gwahak-ro, Yuseung-gu, Daejeon 34133, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin-Gyu
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Center for Electron Microscopy Research, Korea Basic Science Institute (KBSI), 169-148 Gwahak-ro, Yuseung-gu, Daejeon 34133, Korea.
authors.forename: Youn-Joong
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea.
authors.forename: Bong-Joong
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: School of Materials Science and Engineering, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), 123 Cheomdangwagi-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61005, Korea.
authors.forename: Jae-Suk
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6611-2801
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Lee