Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2026

Synthesis of Cyclic Polymers and Characterization of Their Diffusive Motion in the Melt State at the Single Molecule Level
Published on: September 26, 2016
Prediction of a linear polymer made of xenon and carbon
Eric C Brown1, Arik Cohen, R Benny Gerber
1Department of Chemistry, University of California, Irvine, 92697, USA.
Abstract:
Electronic structure calculations predict the existence of a novel type of a chemically bound noble gas compound. The predicted species is an extended linear and periodic polymer, made of the repeat unit -(XeCC)-, where CC is the acetylenic group. The polymer has a strong partly ionic nature, with positive partial charge on the xenon atoms and a negative one on the CC groups. High energy barriers are found for the removal of a Xe atom from the chain, indicating high stability. This is the first polymer with a noble-gas-containing building block.
Related Concept Videos
Polymer Classification: Architecture
Ziegler–Natta Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Polymers: Molecular Weight Distribution
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Overview
Radical Chain-Growth Polymerization: Chain Branching
Anionic Chain-Growth Polymerization: Mechanism

