Crystal structure compression of polycyclic arene-perfluoroarene co-crystals and pressure-induced polymer formation

We propose to study the structural compression and pressure-induced polymerization of 1:1 co-crystals of polycyclic arenes (naphthalene, anthracene, and tetracene) and perfluoroarenes (perfluoroanthracene) using single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The aim of this experiment is to verify the postulated high pressure-stability of these compounds, which form pi-stacks of alternating non- and perfluorinated molecules in the crystal structure, and to contribute to the understanding of the design of novel carbon materials via application of supramolecular synthons such as the arene–perfluoroarene interaction and via variation of the number of aromatic rings of the molecules.