Intercalation of alkylamines into an organic polymer crystal

Organic solid-state synthesis allows formation of products that are difficult or impossible to produce by conventional methods. This feature, and the high degree of reaction selectivity that can be achieved, is a direct result of the control over the relative orientation of the reactants afforded by the solid state. But as the successful development of ‘topochemical reactions’ requires the careful design of suitable reactant crystals, the range of both reactions and products amenable to this approach has been limited1,2. However, recent advances in organic crystal engineering, particularly the rational design of complex solid architectures through supramolecular preorganization3,4,5,6,7,8,9, have renewed interest in topochemical reactions. Previously, we have orientated muconate monomers—diene moieties with a carboxylate group on each end—using long-chain n-alkylammonium ions, such that the topochemical photopolymerization of the solid-state reactants produces layered crystals of stereoregular and high-molecular-mass polymers10,11,12,13. Here we show that these polymer crystals are capable of repeated, reversible intercalation14 by conversion to the analogous poly(carboxylic acid), followed by transformation into a number of poly(alkylammonium muconate)s upon addition of the appropriate amine. Introduction of functional groups into these crystals may allow the design of organic solids for applications such as molecular recognition, separation and catalysis, thereby extending the range and practical utility of current intercalation compounds15,16,17,18,19,20.