In physics, a bipolaron is a type of

quasiparticle In physics, quasiparticles and collective excitations are closely related emergent phenomena arising when a microscopically complicated system such as a solid behaves as if it contained different weakly interacting particles in vacuum. For exam ...

consisting of two

polaron A polaron is a quasiparticle used in condensed matter physics to understand the interactions between electrons and atoms in a solid material. The polaron concept was proposed by Lev Landau in 1933 and Solomon Pekar in 1946 to describe an electro ...

s. In

organic chemistry Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain carbon atoms.Clayden, J.; ...

, it is a molecule or a part of a macromolecular chain containing two positive

charge Charge or charged may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Charge, Zero Emissions/Maximum Speed'', a 2011 documentary Music * ''Charge'' (David Ford album) * ''Charge'' (Machel Montano album) * ''Charge!!'', an album by The Aqua ...

s in a

conjugated system In theoretical chemistry, a conjugated system is a system of connected p-orbitals with delocalized electrons in a molecule, which in general lowers the overall energy of the molecule and increases stability. It is conventionally represented as ...

Bipolarons in physics

In physics, a bipolaron is a bound pair of two polarons. An electron in a material may cause a distortion in the underlying lattice. The combination of

electron The electron ( or ) is a subatomic particle with a negative one elementary electric charge. Electrons belong to the first generation of the lepton particle family, and are generally thought to be elementary particles because they have no kn ...

and distortion (which may also be understood as a cloud of

phonon In physics, a phonon is a collective excitation in a periodic, Elasticity (physics), elastic arrangement of atoms or molecules in condensed matter physics, condensed matter, specifically in solids and some liquids. A type of quasiparticle, a phon ...

s) is known as a polaron (in part because the interaction between electron and

lattice Lattice may refer to: Arts and design * Latticework, an ornamental criss-crossed framework, an arrangement of crossing laths or other thin strips of material * Lattice (music), an organized grid model of pitch ratios * Lattice (pastry), an ornam ...

is via a polarization). When two polarons are close together, they can lower their energy by sharing the same distortions, which leads to an effective attraction between the polarons. If the interaction is sufficiently large, then that attraction leads to a bound bipolaron. For strong attraction, bipolarons may be small. Small bipolarons have integer

spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

and thus share some of the properties of

boson In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0,1,2 ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer s ...

s. If many bipolarons form without coming too close, they might be able to form a

Bose–Einstein condensate In condensed matter physics, a Bose–Einstein condensate (BEC) is a state of matter that is typically formed when a gas of bosons at very low densities is cooled to temperatures very close to absolute zero (−273.15 °C or −459.67&n ...

. This has led to a suggestion that bipolarons could be a possible mechanism for

high-temperature superconductivity High-temperature superconductors (abbreviated high-c or HTS) are defined as materials that behave as superconductors at temperatures above , the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. The adjective "high temperature" is only in respect to previ ...

. For example, they can lead to a very direct interpretation of the isotope effect. Recently, bipolarons have been found in a Bose-Einstein condensate. Two polarons interchange sound waves and they attract to each other, forming a bound-state when the strength coupling between the single polarons and the condensate is strong in comparison with the interactions of the host gas.

Bipolarons in organic chemistry

In organic chemistry, a bipolaron is a

molecule A molecule is a group of two or more atoms held together by attractive forces known as chemical bonds; depending on context, the term may or may not include ions which satisfy this criterion. In quantum physics, organic chemistry, and bioch ...

or part of a

macromolecular A macromolecule is a very large molecule important to biophysical processes, such as a protein or nucleic acid. It is composed of thousands of covalently bonded atoms. Many macromolecules are polymers of smaller molecules called monomers. The ...

chain containing two positive charges in a conjugated system. The charges can be located in the centre of the chain or at its termini. Bipolarons and polarons are encountered in doped

conducting polymer Conductive polymers or, more precisely, intrinsically conducting polymers (ICPs) are organic polymers that Electrical conductance, conduct electricity. Such compounds may have metallic conductivity or can be semiconductors. The biggest advantage ...

s such as

polythiophene Polythiophenes (PTs) are polymerized thiophenes, a sulfur heterocyclic compound, heterocycle. The parent PT is an insoluble colored solid with the formula (C4H2S)n. The rings are linked through the 2- and 5-positions. Poly(alkylthiophene)s hav ...

. It is possible to synthesize and isolate bipolaron model compounds for

X-ray diffraction X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

studies. The

diamagnetic Diamagnetic materials are repelled by a magnetic field; an applied magnetic field creates an induced magnetic field in them in the opposite direction, causing a repulsive force. In contrast, paramagnetic and ferromagnetic materials are attracted ...

bis(triaryl)amine dication 2 in ''scheme 1'' is prepared from the neutral precursor 1 in

dichloromethane Dichloromethane (DCM or methylene chloride, methylene bichloride) is an organochlorine compound with the formula . This colorless, volatile liquid with a chloroform-like, sweet odour is widely used as a solvent. Although it is not miscible with ...

by reaction with 4 equivalents of

antimony pentachloride Antimony pentachloride is a chemical compound with the formula SbCl5. It is a colourless oil, but typical samples are yellowish due to dissolved chlorine. Owing to its tendency to hydrolyse to hydrochloric acid, SbCl5 is a highly corrosive substa ...

. Two

resonance structure In chemistry, resonance, also called mesomerism, is a way of describing Chemical bond, bonding in certain molecules or polyatomic ions by the combination of several contributing structures (or ''forms'', also variously known as ''resonance stru ...

s exist for the dication. Structure 2a is a (singlet) diradical and 2b is the

closed shell In atomic physics and quantum chemistry, the electron configuration is the distribution of electrons of an atom or molecule (or other physical structure) in atomic or molecular orbitals. For example, the electron configuration of the neon atom ...

quinoid In organic chemistry, quinoids are a class of chemical compounds that are derived from quinone. Unlike benzenoid structures, the quinoid part is not aromatic. See also * Benzenoid * Aromatic compound Aromatic compounds, also known as "mono- ...

. The experimental

bond length In molecular geometry, bond length or bond distance is defined as the average distance between nuclei of two bonded atoms in a molecule. It is a transferable property of a bond between atoms of fixed types, relatively independent of the rest of ...

s for the central vinylidene group in 2 are 141 pm and 137 pm compared to 144 pm and 134 pm for the precursor 1 implying some contribution from the quinoid structure. On the other hand, when a

thiophene Thiophene is a heterocyclic compound with the formula C4H4S. Consisting of a planar five-membered ring, it is aromatic as indicated by its extensive substitution reactions. It is a colorless liquid with a benzene-like odor. In most of its reacti ...

unit is added to the core in the structure depicted in ''scheme 2'', these bond lengths are identical (around 138 pm) making it a true hybrid.

References

{{reflist Ions Quasiparticles