Infinite spinning of several polyacetylene chains into long multiple helices

This study demonstrates a designed multi-stranded helical motif that self-spun naturally by six to eight polyacetylene (PA) chains. The spiral of one end results in the helical behavior of the whole long polymer. We show that six PA chains with length of 1017.2 Å (1 nm) can self-spin continuously to form multiple helical structure. The basic strand-strand interaction, self-spun mechanism, and thermal stability during the natural helix-forming are particularly explained. The formed PA multiple helices are stable at room temperature. It is expected that these findings could stimulate enormous effects on the synthesis of helical polymers to further develop novel PA helix based functional materials and nanoscale devices.

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