Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging
Abstract Aldol condensation is a crucial synthetic reaction in organic chemistry, particularly valued for fabricating conjugated polymers without the use of metals or toxic organostannanes. However, due to the lack of reliable and precise analytical methods, no direct evidence of the microstructure...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
|
| Series: | Nature Communications |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62221-y |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849764600526929920 |
|---|---|
| author | Xiaocui Wu Stefania Moro Adam Marks Maryam Alsufyani Zidi Yu Luís M. A. Perdigão Xingxing Chen Alexander M. T. Luci Callum Crockford Simon E. F. Spencer David J. Fox Jian Pei Iain McCulloch Giovanni Costantini |
| author_facet | Xiaocui Wu Stefania Moro Adam Marks Maryam Alsufyani Zidi Yu Luís M. A. Perdigão Xingxing Chen Alexander M. T. Luci Callum Crockford Simon E. F. Spencer David J. Fox Jian Pei Iain McCulloch Giovanni Costantini |
| author_sort | Xiaocui Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Aldol condensation is a crucial synthetic reaction in organic chemistry, particularly valued for fabricating conjugated polymers without the use of metals or toxic organostannanes. However, due to the lack of reliable and precise analytical methods, no direct evidence of the microstructure and sequence of synthesised polymers has been obtained, limiting control over their structure and performance. Here, by combining electrospray deposition and scanning tunnelling microscopy (ESD-STM), we analyse sub-monomer resolution images of four different n-type polymers produced via aldol condensation, revealing unexpected defects in both the sequence of (co)monomers and their coupling. These defects, observed across all polymer samples, indicate alternative side reaction pathways inherent to aldol condensation. Our findings not only uncover the reaction mechanism responsible for these defects but also bring new insights for the design of more effective synthetic pathways to minimise structural defects in conjugated polymers. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-ae9e69c5d3864a4886032d1ab1ee82fa |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2041-1723 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nature Communications |
| spelling | doaj-art-ae9e69c5d3864a4886032d1ab1ee82fa2025-08-20T03:05:06ZengNature PortfolioNature Communications2041-17232025-07-011611810.1038/s41467-025-62221-yRevealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imagingXiaocui Wu0Stefania Moro1Adam Marks2Maryam Alsufyani3Zidi Yu4Luís M. A. Perdigão5Xingxing Chen6Alexander M. T. Luci7Callum Crockford8Simon E. F. Spencer9David J. Fox10Jian Pei11Iain McCulloch12Giovanni Costantini13Department of Chemistry, University of WarwickSchool of Chemistry, University of BirminghamDepartment of Chemistry, University of OxfordDepartment of Chemistry, University of OxfordCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, University of WarwickDepartment of Materials, School of Chemistry & Chemical Engineering, Anhui UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, University of WarwickDepartment of Chemistry, University of WarwickDepartment of Statistics, University of WarwickDepartment of Chemistry, University of WarwickCollege of Chemistry and Molecular Engineering, Peking UniversityDepartment of Chemistry, University of OxfordSchool of Chemistry, University of BirminghamAbstract Aldol condensation is a crucial synthetic reaction in organic chemistry, particularly valued for fabricating conjugated polymers without the use of metals or toxic organostannanes. However, due to the lack of reliable and precise analytical methods, no direct evidence of the microstructure and sequence of synthesised polymers has been obtained, limiting control over their structure and performance. Here, by combining electrospray deposition and scanning tunnelling microscopy (ESD-STM), we analyse sub-monomer resolution images of four different n-type polymers produced via aldol condensation, revealing unexpected defects in both the sequence of (co)monomers and their coupling. These defects, observed across all polymer samples, indicate alternative side reaction pathways inherent to aldol condensation. Our findings not only uncover the reaction mechanism responsible for these defects but also bring new insights for the design of more effective synthetic pathways to minimise structural defects in conjugated polymers.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62221-y |
| spellingShingle | Xiaocui Wu Stefania Moro Adam Marks Maryam Alsufyani Zidi Yu Luís M. A. Perdigão Xingxing Chen Alexander M. T. Luci Callum Crockford Simon E. F. Spencer David J. Fox Jian Pei Iain McCulloch Giovanni Costantini Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging Nature Communications |
| title | Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging |
| title_full | Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging |
| title_fullStr | Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging |
| title_full_unstemmed | Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging |
| title_short | Revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high-resolution molecular imaging |
| title_sort | revealing polymerisation defects and formation mechanisms in aldol condensation for conjugated polymers via high resolution molecular imaging |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-62221-y |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xiaocuiwu revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT stefaniamoro revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT adammarks revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT maryamalsufyani revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT zidiyu revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT luismaperdigao revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT xingxingchen revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT alexandermtluci revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT callumcrockford revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT simonefspencer revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT davidjfox revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT jianpei revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT iainmcculloch revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging AT giovannicostantini revealingpolymerisationdefectsandformationmechanismsinaldolcondensationforconjugatedpolymersviahighresolutionmolecularimaging |