Electric polarization generated by the solid-state polymerization of pTS

Single crystals of pTS (bis-p-toluene sulphonate of 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-diol), when annealed at 350 K, generate an electrical signal peaking at a time corresponding to that of a maximum polymerization rate. It is shown that a steady-state polarization of the order of 10^?4 C/m² is built into the pTS samples during the polymerization. The effect is probably associated with a non-compensated dipolar species created on polymerizing pTS crystals, and possibly also accounts for the pyroelectricity of poly-pTS.