Insights into topochemical versus stress-induced high-pressure reactivity of azobenzene by single crystal X-ray diffraction

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

cell parameter, previously observed under non-hydrostatic conditions, was identified as the crucial step toward the formation of azobenzene-derived double-core nanothreads, under quasi-hydrostatic conditions the compression of the cell parameters up to 33 GPa followed a different route. The evolution of the cell parameters and the refinement of the crystal structure close to the onset of the reaction identified a topochemical polymerization path, corroborated by reaction kinetics data by infrared spectroscopy and by computed polymer structures, suggesting a complex growth process, resulting in a distinctly different material compared to that formed upon non-hydrostatic compression. These findings underscore the pivotal role of compression conditions in determining the reaction pathways of azobenzene, providing novel insights for its application in nanomaterial synthesis.