Bioinspired negative-curvature monomer architecture accelerates on-surface topochemical polymerization.

Bioinspired phospholipid architectures enable up to 12-fold faster on-surface polymerization than traditional monomers by introducing hierarchical packing frustration.

• Why it matters: Efficient on-surface chemical reactions are hindered by the need for both molecular order and local dynamics, limiting reaction rates and material design options.
• What they did: The study used molecular dynamics simulations and experimental photopolymerization of diacetylene phospholipids on graphitic substrates, comparing reaction half-times across different monomers.
• The result: Findings reveal that hierarchical packing frustration accelerates reactions, with the newly designed monomer achieving rapid kinetics, paving the way for advanced surface-based polymer materials.