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Updated: May 1, 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
Phase transition of [2,2]-paracyclophane--an end to an apparently endless story
Hilke Wolf1, Dirk Leusser, Mads R V Jørgensen
1Institut für Anorganische Chemie, Georg-August-Universität, Tammannstraße 4, 37077 Göttingen (Germany).
Abstract:
In this contribution, the solid-state low-temperature phase structure of [2,2]-paracyclophane is unambiguously characterised by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Additionally, a heat capacity measurement was undertaken, which proves the existence of a λ-type phase transition at 45 K, a transition that is connected with the formation of a secondary Cp/T feature at 60 K. The low-temperature phase (<45 K) crystallises in the lower symmetry space group P4n2, whereas the high-temperature phase (>60 K) crystallises in space group P4(2)/mnm. This proves what has been postulated both by experimental and theoretical chemists but has repeatedly been dismissed as speculation many times.
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