Ravi A, Hassan SZ, Bhandary S, Sureshan KM. Topochemical Postulates: Are They Relevant for Topochemical Reactions Occurring at Elevated Temperatures?
Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2022;
61:e202200954. [PMID:
35258143 DOI:
10.1002/anie.202200954]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
A rigid inositol-derived monomer functionalized with azide and alkyne as the complementary reactive groups (CRGs) crystallized as three distinct polymorphs I-III. Despite the unsuitable orientation of CRGs in the crystals for complete polymerization, all the three polymorphs underwent regiospecific and quantitative topochemical azide-alkyne cycloaddition (TAAC) polymerization upon heating to yield three different polymorphs of 1,2,3-triazol-1,4-diyl-linked-poly-neo-inositol. The molecules in these polymorphs exploit the weak intermolecular interactions, free space in the crystal lattice, and heat energy for their large and cooperative molecular motion to attain a transient reactive orientation, ultimately leading to the regiospecific TAAC reaction yielding distinct crystalline polymers. This study cautions that the overreliance on topochemical postulates for the prediction of topochemical reactivity at high temperatures could be misleading.
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