Nanowerk November 16, 2021
It is challenging to increase the rigidity of a macromolecule while maintaining solubility. Researchers in Germany have introduced the concept of a molecular ladder. They first designed a precursor compound that contained only a single polymer chain and attached polymerizable groups – a flexible “snake.” For some of the material, the second rail of the ladder was then formed in a subsequent step by means of a zipper reaction. In addition to the polymer with a single conjugated rail, the team obtained a polymer with two conjugated rails – the stiff “ladder”. They constructed such a molecular ladder with double and single bonds alternating between the carbon atoms making up the rails on a ladder. They observed how these packages moved along the ladder virtually unimpeded. The ladder structure is retained not only when the molecules are placed on a surface, but also when they are dissolved in a liquid allowing energy to move along the molecule in space, providing a potential building block for optical networks, circuits, and sensors. Video…read more.  Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLEÂ
