Pressure-induced coupling of hydrated 4,4′-bipyridine

Abstract

Aromatic molecules undergo pressure-induced bond formation, creating new species with intriguing structural, chemical, and electronic properties. Here, diffraction measurements, vibrational and photoluminescence spectroscopies, and mass spectrometry suggest that hydrated 4,4′-bipyridine undergoes two distinct irreversible reactions upon compression: dimerization coupled to loss of hydrogen atoms and oligomerization without atom loss.