Polymer Structure Control Based on Crystal Engineering for Materials Design

Abstract

In this review article, polymer structure control and organic material design based on polymer crystal engineering are described. The structures and properties of crystalline materials are designed using pre-organized molecules through various intermolecular interactions such as hydrogen bonds, π…π, CH/π, CH/O, and halogen interactions. Here, we describe the features and mechanisms of the topochemical polymerization of 1,3-diene monomers including some ester, ammonium, and amide derivatives of muconic and sorbic acids, which are 1,3-diene di- and monocarboxylic acid derivatives, respectively. We have proposed the topochemical polymerization principles for diene monomers on the basis of the crystallographic data accumulated for various kinds of diene monomers. The combination of several intermolecular interactions is useful for the construction of molecular packing appropriate for 5 Å stacking in order to facilitate the topochemical polymerization in the crystalline state. We refer to the control of polymer chain structure including tacticity, molecular weight, and ladder structure, and also polymer crystal structures, as well as the organic intercalation system using layered polymer crystals obtained by the topochemical polymerization. A totally solvent-free system for the synthesis of layered polymer crystals is also described.