Scalable Synthesis of Crystalline One-Dimensional Carbon Nanothreads through Modest-Pressure Polymerization of Furan

Carbon nanothreads, which are one-dimensional sp3-rich polymers, combine high tensile strength with flexibility owing to subnanometer widths and diamond-like cores. These extended carbon solids constructed through pressure-induced polymerization of sp2 molecules such as benzene. Whereas a few examples nanothreads have been reported, the need for onset pressures (?17 GPa) synthesize them precludes scalability limits scope. Herein, we report scalable synthesis based on molecular furan, can be achieved ambient temperature an reaction pressure only 10 GPa due its lessened aromaticity relative other precursors. When slowly compressed 15 gradually decompressed 1.5 GPa, sharp 6-fold diffraction pattern is observed in situ, indicating well-ordered crystalline material formed from liquid furan. Single-crystal X-ray (XRD) product exhibits three distinct d-spacings 4.75 4.9 Å, whose size, angular spacing, degree anisotropy consistent our atomistic simulations crystals furan nanothreads. Further evidence was obtained by powder XRD, Raman/IR spectroscopy, mass spectrometry. Comparison IR spectra computed vibrational modes provides provisional identification spectral features characteristic specific nanothread structures, namely syn, anti, syn/anti configurations. Mass spectrometry suggests that weights at least 6 kDa possible. Furan therefore presents strategic entry toward