Ultralong ionic chains with lengths over 10 μm: A control of ionic molecular engineering

Summary

The synthesis of ultralong monomolecular chains is challenging in general chemistry. Such chains have rarely comprised ionic substances due to the lack of intrinsic direction for ionic bonds, which leads to closely packed clusters or crystals. Herein, we report the discovery of an ultralong silver acetate (AgAc) monomolecular chain with an average length of over 10 μm; the chain has no branches, and the chemical formula is (Ag⁺Ac⁻)_>38,000. The molecular structure exhibits a zigzag arrangement of Ag⁺ ions, and the Ag⁺-Ag⁺ skeleton is similar to the C-C skeleton in organic or polymeric chain-structured molecules. Our discovery allows the typical chain-structured molecular skeletons achieved in covalent compounds of organic chemistry/polymer chemistry to be achieved analogously with many more ions, which would push forward the fundamental understanding of ionic bond in theory and provide a way to synthesize diverse ionic chains in practice.