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Newly designed norbornene-appended hexabenzocoronene 1 self-assembles, upon diffusion of an Et2O vapor into its CH2Cl2 solution, to form either graphitic nanocoils or nanotubes, depending on the self-assembling conditions. The coiled assembly, selectively formed at 15 °C, is a kinetic intermediate for the tubular assembly and transforms into nanotubes on standing at 25 °C. However, post-ring-opening metathesis polymerization of the norbornene pendants of 1 enhances the thermal stability of the coiled assembly as well as the tubular one and disables a thermodynamic coil-to-tube transition. The polymerized nanocoils show an electroconductivity of 1 × 10-4 S cm-1 upon doping with I2, while the nonpolymerized nanocoils are disrupted upon being doped. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tandem alkyne-azide addition, i.e., click, and an olefin metathesis condensation, i.e., clip, reactions in conjunction with an electrostatic self-assembly and covalent fixation (ESA-CF) process, have been demonstrated as effective means to produce constructions of programmed folding of polymers having doubly fused tricyclic and triply fused tetracyclic topologies. Thus, a series of cyclic poly(tetrahydrofuran), poly(THF), precursors having an allyloxy group and an alkyne group (Ia), an allyloxy group and an azide group (Ib), and two alkyne groups (Ic) at the opposite positions was prepared by means of the ESA-CF method. The subsequent click reactions of Ia with a linear telechelic poly(THF) precursor having azide end groups (Id) and of Ib with Ic afforded a bridged dicyclic polymer (IIa) and a tandem spiro tricyclic precursor (IIb), respectively, both having two allyloxy groups at the opposite positions of the ring units. Finally, the intramolecular metathesis condensation reaction of IIa and of IIb in the presence of a Grubbs catalyst was performed to construct effectively a doubly fused tricyclic and a triply fused tetracyclic polymer topologies (III and IV), respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]