One-pot in situ fabrication of stable nanocaterpillars directly from polyacetylene diblock copolymers synthesized by mild ring-opening metathesis polymerization

We report a direct one-pot route for the preparation of supramolecules from simple polyacetylene diblock copolymers synthesized by mild ring-opening metathesis polymerization of cyclooctatetraene. This in situ nanoparticlization of conjugated polymer (INCP) approach is advantageous over conventional self-assembly processes because this method does not require any tedious postsynthetic treatments. Also, this direct approach provides intriguing supramolecules with a unique nanostructure resembling a caterpillar. Furthermore, the new supramolecules are highly stable adducts because the polyacetylene core block provides an exceptionally strong driving force for the self-assembly. Even though pristine polyacetylene is unstable in air, the polyacetylene segment in the nanocaterpillar is very stable because it is protected within the shell of the supramolecule.