Résumé
1,6-Bis(1-imidazolyl)-2,4-hexadiyne (1) and1,6-bis(1-benzimidazolyl)-2,4-hexadiyne (5) have beenpreparedby a novel method that consists in refluxing excess imidazole and benzimidazole with 2,4-hexadiyne-1,6-diol bis(p-toluenesulfonate),pTS (3). This procedure is a viable alternative to the widely used Hay coupling protocol in case the target diyne possesses substituents capable of deactivating the copper catalyst by complexation. Diyne1crystallizes as a hydrate,1?H2O(2). For this compound, water is essential toachieve a crystalline material, and attempts to obtain crystals without included solvent were unsuccessful. In the structure of2, the organic fragments organize around the water molecule and interact with it through a dense network of hydrogen bonds. The CMC-CMC moieties are not oriented suitably for topochemical polymerization, and when trying to alter the organizationof the crystal by heating so as to induce polymerization, water is lost in an abrupt fashion that leads to instantaneous decomposition into polyaromatic-like species. Similar results were observed when water was removedin vacuo at room temperature. The benzimidazole-containing compound can be crystallized with water molecules (4)orwithout(5). X-ray crystallography shows that the structure of 5is organized by numerous C-H...N, C-H...p,andimidazolyl...imidazolyl p-p interactions. The diacetylene molecules almost have the right arrangement for topochemical polymerization, withpossibly reactingCMC-CMC fragments not beingparallel, a rare situation indiacetylene chemistry. Yet, experiments showthat topochemical polymerizationdoes not occur. Incorporationofwater in the lattice of5leads toa solvate that is topochemically reactive. Unlike2, however, water molecules in 4are not isolated but are organized as ribbons. Spectroscopic characterization of the polymer of4indicates that it is a blue phase polymer, with water coordinated to it. This study shows that it is possible to use water, and more generally solvent molecules, to transform a nonreactive diacetylene into a reactive one, even though this approach is less predictable than the cocrystal approach developed by Fowler, Lauher, and Goroff. The solvate approach is simple to implement, quite versatile because of the large rangeof solvents available, andonedoes not face theproblemof having to remove the host in case one needs to recover the polymer. Previous studies describing a similar approach are scarce.