Room-temperature high-spin organic single molecule: Nanometer-sized and hyperbranched poly[1,2,(4)-phenylenevinyleneanisylaminium]

Poly[1,2,(4)-phenylenevinyleneanisylaminium] 1 was synthesized by one-pot palladium-catalyzed polycondensation of N-(3-bromo-4-vinylphenyl)-N-(4-methoxyphenyl)-N-(4-vinylphenyl)amine 3 and subsequent oxidation with the thianthrene cation radical tetrafluoroborate: compound 1 three-directionally satisfies a non-Kekule-type pi-conjugation and the ferromagnetic connectivity of the unpaired electrons of the triarylaminium cationic radical. The average molecular weight of the polymer was 4700-5900 (degree of polymerization = 11-14), which gave a single molecular-based and globular-shaped image of ca. 15 nm diameter by atomic and magnetic force microscopies under ambient conditions. The aminium polyradical 1 with a spin concentration (determined by iodometry) of 0.65 spin/unit displayed an average S (spin quantum number) value of (7)/(2) even at 70 degrees C according to NMR and magnetization measurements.