Carbon Nitride Nanothread Crystals Derived from Pyridine

Carbon nanothreads are a new one-dimensional
sp3 carbon
nanomaterial. They assemble into hexagonal crystals in a room temperature,
nontopochemical solid-state reaction induced by slow compression of
benzene to 23 GPa. Here we show that pyridine also reacts under compression
to form a well-ordered sp3 product: C5NH5 carbon nitride nanothreads. Solid pyridine has a different
crystal structure from solid benzene, so the nontopochemical formation
of low-dimensional crystalline solids by slow compression of small
aromatics may be a general phenomenon that enables chemical design
of properties. The nitrogen in the carbon nitride nanothreads may
improve processability, alters photoluminescence, and is predicted
to reduce the bandgap.