Direct evidence for chain orientation in poly(acetylene)

Two conflicting structural models (platelet and fibril) have been proposed in the literature for pristine cis-poly(acetylene). The respective models have separate, distinct implications for the chemical, physical and electrical properties of the material, in particular, the cis-trans isomerization, doping and conduction mechanisms. Luttinger-type cis-poly(acetylene) was prepared and studied in the transmission electron microscope (TEM) by low-dose conventional imaging, in dark-field mode and by electron diffraction. Thin ‘films’ of the material were shown to consist of fibrillar nets, having fibrils of diameter 5–25 nm. Combined electron diffraction and dark-field observations in the TEM indicated the structural arrangement within the fibrils as that having polymer molecular chains aligned parallel to fibril axes.