Hypercross-Linked Organic Solids: Preparation from Poly(aromatic diacetylenes) and Preliminary Measurements of their Young's Modulus, Hardness, and Thermal Stability

We are engaged in a program intended to establish relationships between the microscopic structure of highly cross-linked organic solids and the Young's modulus, thermal stability, and hardness of these solids. This program was stimulated by an interest in the physical properties of diamond.¹ Diamond is the hardest substance known, is the best thermal conductor, and has the highest known Young's modulus. These properties undoubtedly reflect, in some way, the high volume density of strong, directional carbon-carbon bonds that characterize the structure of diamond. Our objective is to prepare organic solids with a high and controllable density of carboncarbon bonds, to characterize the bonding in these solids, to establish their physical and materials properties (especially Young's modulus, thermal stability, and hardness), and to correlate their microscopic structures with these macroscopic properties.