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Updated: May 22, 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
Heterogeneous single-molecule diffusion in one-, two-, and three-dimensional microporous coordination polymers:
Yi Liao1, Seong K Yang, Kyoungmoo Koh
1Department of Chemistry, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109, United States.
Abstract:
The diffusion of individual Nile red molecules in three different crystalline microporous coordination polymers (MCPs) is visualized with single-molecule fluorescence microscopy. By localizing molecules with high spatial resolution, the trajectories of the diffusing dyes are reconstructed with nanometer-scale precision. A detailed analysis of these tracks reveals different dynamics and guest-host interactions in each crystal as well as distinct motion types within the same system, suggesting the presence of structural heterogeneities in local environments.
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