A Two‐Dimensional Polymer Synthesized at the Air/Water Interface

Abstract

A trifunctional, partially fluorinated anthracene‐substituted triptycene monomer was spread at an air/water interface into a monolayer, which was transformed into a long‐range‐ordered 2D polymer by irradiation with a standard UV lamp. The polymer was analyzed by Brewster angle microscopy, scanning tunneling microscopy measurements, and non‐contact atomic force microscopy, which confirmed the generation of a network structure with lattice parameters that are virtually identical to a structural model network based on X‐ray diffractometry of a closely related 2D polymer. The nc‐AFM images highlight the long‐range order over areas of at least 300×300 nm2. As required for a 2D polymer, the pore sizes are monodisperse, except for the regions where the network is somewhat stretched because it spans over protrusions. Together with a previous report on the nature of the cross‐links in this network, the structural information provided herein leaves no doubt that a 2D polymer has been synthesized under ambient conditions at an air/water interface.