Anisotropic Poisson Effect and Deformation-Induced Fluorescence Change of Elastic 9,10-Dibromoanthracene Single Crystals

Elastic organic crystals have attracted considerable attention as next-generation flexible smart materials. However, the detailed information on both molecular packing change and macroscopic mechanical crystal deformations upon applied stress is still insufficient. Herein, we report that fluorescent single crystals of 9,10-dibromoanthracene are elastically bendable and stretchable, which allows a detailed investigation of the deformation behavior. We clearly observed a Poisson effect for the crystal, where the short axes (b and c-axes) of the crystal are contracted upon elongation along the long axis (a-axis). Moreover, we found that the Poisson's ratios along the b-axis and c-axis are largely different. Theoretical molecular simulation suggests that the tilting motion of the anthracene may be responsible for the large deformation along the c-axis. Spatially resolved photoluminescence (PL) measurement of the bent elastic crystals reveals that the PL spectra at the outer (elongated), central (neutral), and inner (contracted) sides are different from each other.     

3‐Amino‐1,2,4‐triazine

In the crystal structure of 3‐amino‐1,2,4‐triazine, C₃H₄N₄, the mol­ecules form hydrogen‐bonded chains that are almost parallel to the b axis (3.2°), and which are inclined to the a and c axes by ～21 and ～69°, respectively. The distortion of the 1,2,4‐triazine ring in the crystal is compared with gas‐phase ab initio molecular‐orbital calculations.     

1,5‐Dianilinopentane‐1,3,5‐trione: a crystal structure containing two polymorphic domains

Single crystals of the title compound, C₁₇H₁₆N₂O₃, were obtained by gas diffusion. The observed diffraction pattern is compatible with a superposition of reflections from two monoclinic unit cells with the space group C2/c. The two cells share the a and b axes but not the c axis. Both structures contain layers parallel to (001), with molecules connected by intermolecular N—H...O=C hydrogen bonds. The bonding between adjacent layers is weak. Layer displacements result in a crystal structure containing two closely related polymorphic domains. The structure of one polymorph can be derived from the structure of the other if subsequent layers are displaced by (a/4, b/4, 0) for odd‐numbered layers and by (a/4, −b/4, 0) for even‐numbered layers. Three different crystals were analysed and their observed diffraction patterns were similar, showing all three crystals to contain the polymorphic domain structure.     

Monosodium [1‐hydroxy‐2‐(1H‐imidazol‐3‐ium‐4‐yl)ethane‐1,1‐diyl]bis(phosphonate) tetrahydrate (monosodium isozoledronate)

The title compound, Na⁺·C₅H₉N₂O₇P₂^?·4H₂O, is an isomer of zoledronate, a potent bone antiresorptive bis­phospho­nate drug having significant activity against several parasitic protozoa. The crystal structure of isozoledronate consists of bisphosphonate dimers coordinated by two Na⁺ ions. The dimers are held together through an extensive hydrogen‐bonding network. The crystals exhibit non‐merohedral twinning that roughly superimposes the a and b axes, and inverts the c axis.     

The solid‐state structure of the β‐blocker metoprolol: a combined experimental and in silico investigation

Metoprolol {systematic name: (RS)‐1‐isopropylamino‐3‐[4‐(2‐methoxyethyl)phenoxy]propan‐2‐ol}, C₁₅H₂₅NO₃, is a cardioselective β₁‐adrenergic blocking agent that shares part of its molecular skeleton with a large number of other β‐blockers. Results from its solid‐state characterization by single‐crystal and variable‐temperature powder X‐ray diffraction and differential scanning calorimetry are presented. Its molecular and crystal arrangements have been further investigated by molecular modelling, by a Cambridge Structural Database (CSD) survey and by Hirshfeld surface analysis. In the crystal, the side arm bearing the isopropyl group, which is common to other β‐blockers, adopts an all‐trans conformation, which is the most stable arrangement from modelling data. The crystal packing of metoprolol is dominated by an O—H…N/N…H—O pair of hydrogen bonds (as also confirmed by a Hirshfeld surface analysis), which gives rise to chains containing alternating R and S metoprolol molecules extending along the b axis, supplemented by a weaker O…H—N/N—H…O pair of interactions. In addition, within the same stack of molecules, a C—H…O contact, partially oriented along the b and c axes, links homochiral molecules. Amongst the solid‐state structures of molecules structurally related to metoprolol deposited in the CSD, the β‐blocker drug betaxolol shows the closest analogy in terms of three‐dimensional arrangement and interactions. Notwithstanding their close similarity, the crystal lattices of the two drugs respond differently on increasing temperature: metoprolol expands anisotropically, while for betaxolol, an isotropic thermal expansion is observed.     

Crystal structure of poly(m-phenylene isophthalamide)

The crystal structure of poly(m-phenyulene isophthalamide) was determined by x-ray analysis. The triclinic cell, with a = 5.27 Å, b = 5.25 Å, c (fiber axis) = 11.3 Å, α = 111.5°, β = 111.4° and γ = 88.0° and space group P1, contains one monomeric unit. The crystal density is 1.47 g/cc. The molecules in the crystal are contracted by 1 Å per monomeric unit from the fully extended conformation, and the planes of the benzene rings and adjacent amide groups make angles of about 30°. The crystal is composed of molecular chains connected by N? H···O hydrogen bonds along the a and b axes forming a “jungle gym” network structure. The low tensile modulus of this polymer as compared with that of poly(p-phenylene terephthalamide) is attributed to the contracted molecular conformation.     

Dimorphism of ethyl 1,4‐dihydro‐2,4,6‐triphenylpyridine‐3‐carboxylate

The title compound, C₂₆H₂₃NO₂, (Ia) and (Ib), shows polymorphism with crystals obtained from different solvents displaying different crystal structures. However, it is not the geometry of the single mol­ecules nor the hydrogen‐bond pattern that is different in (Ia) and (Ib), but the way in which the hydrogen‐bonded chains, running along the a‐axis direction, are arranged with respect to each other.     

2‐[(E)‐(4‐Chloro­phenyl)­methyl­ene­amino]‐N‐(X‐methyl­phenyl)‐4,5,6,7‐tetra­hydro‐1‐benzo­thio­phene‐3‐carbox­amide,where X = 2 and 3

The title compounds, both C₂₃H₂₁ClN₂OS, are isomeric, with (I) and (II) being the N‐3‐methyl­phenyl and N‐2‐methyl­phenyl derivatives, respectively. The dihedral angle between the 4‐chloro­phenyl group and the thio­phene ring in (II) [38.1 (1)°] is larger than that in (I) [7.1 (1)°], indicating steric repulsion between the chloro­phenyl and o‐toluidine groups in (II). In both compounds, an intramolecular N—H⋯N hydrogen bond forms a pseudo‐six‐membered ring, thus locking the molecular conformation. In the crystal structures, mol­ecules are connected via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming chains along the b axis in (I) and along the c axis in (II). Intermolecular C—H⋯O/S and π–π interactions are also observed in (II), but not in (I).     

Two polymorphs of 4‐propyl‐3,4‐dihydro‐2H‐naphtho[1,2‐b]pyran‐5,6‐dione

Two polymorphs of the title compound, C₁₆H₁₆O₃, have been obtained from the same solution. One polymorph, (I_m), crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁, while the other, (I_o), crystallizes in the orthorhombic space group P2₁2₁2₁. The cell constants of the two polymorphs are surprisingly similar. Whereas the a and b axes are equal in the two structures, the c axis in (I_o) is twice as long as that in (I_m). The monoclinic angle β is 95.084 (9)° compared with 90° in the orthorhombic crystal system. The cell volume of (I_m) is almost exactly half of the cell volume of (I_o). The packing motifs are also very similar in the two structures. However, whereas the molecules in (I_m) are related by a twofold screw axis just in the direction of the b axis, in (I_o) there are twofold screw axes along all three directions of the unit cell.     

2‐Hydroxy‐3‐(3‐oxobut­yl)naphthalene‐1,4‐dione

The title compound, C₁₄H₁₂O₄, forms crystals which appear monoclinic but are actually twinned triclinic. The asymmetric unit consists of two similar mol­ecules, which differ only in the conformation of the 3‐oxobutyl side chain. The mol­ecular conformation is characterized by an intra­molecular O—H⋯O hydrogen bond between the hydroxy group and the adjacent carbonyl O atom. The crystal structure is stabilized by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds connecting the mol­ecules into zigzag chains running along the b axis.     

Oriented crystallization of poly(L‐lactic acid) in uniaxially oriented blends with poly(vinylidene fluoride)

This article describes the oriented crystallization of poly(L ‐lactic acid) (PLLA) in uniaxially oriented blends with poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF). Uniaxially drawn films of PLLA/PVDF blend with fixed ends were heat‐treated in two ways to crystallize PLLA in oriented blend films. The crystal orientation of PLLA depended upon the heat‐treatment process. The crystal c‐axis of the α form crystal of PLLA was highly oriented in the drawing direction in a sample cold‐crystallized at T_c = 120 °C, whereas the tilt‐orientation of the [200]/ [110] axes of PLLA was induced in the sample crystallized at T_c = 120 °C after preheating at T_p = 164.5–168.5 °C. Detailed analysis of the wide‐angle X‐ray diffraction (WAXD) indicated that the [020]/ [310] crystal axes were oriented parallel to the drawing direction, which causes the tilt‐orientation of the [200]/ [110] axes and other crystal axes. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) suggested that oriented crystallization occurs in the stretched domains of PLLA with diameters of 0.5–2.0 μm in the uniaxially drawn films of PVDF/PLLA = 90/10 blend. Although the mechanism for the oriented crystallization of PLLA was not clear, a possibility was heteroepitaxy of the [200]/[110] axes of the α form crystal of PLLA along the [201]/[111] axes of the β form crystal of PVDF that is induced by lattice matching of d₁₀₀(PLLA) ≈ 5d₂₀₁(PVDF). © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 46: 1376–1389, 2008     

A three‐dimensional open‐framework germanate containing four‐, five‐ and six‐coordinated germanium

A new three‐dimensional open‐framework germanate, namely ethylenediamine bis(ethylenediammonium) tetra­hydro­xo­octadecaoxononagermanate, (C₂H₈N₂)(C₂H₁₀N₂)₂[Ge₉O₁₈(OH)₄], has been synthesized hydro­thermally and its structure determined by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction. The framework is built of [Ge₉O₂₂(OH)₄] units formed by four‐, five‐ and six‐oxy­gen‐coordinated germanium and templated by ethyl­enedi­amine. Three types of intersecting channels are formed in the framework, one by eight‐membered rings running along the b axis and the other two by ten‐membered rings running parallel to the a and c axes, respectively.     

Preparation of mordenite composite membranes with seeding

Mordenite composite membranes were prepared by means of coating a porous α-alumina support with nanosized mordenite seeds followed by hydrothermal crystallization. A systematic investigation was performed on the influence of several factors such as ageing of the reaction mixture, alkalinity, salt addition and temperature on the formation of a mordenite membrane on the seeded support. The ageing of the reaction mixture reduces the growth rate of mordenite crystal along a-axis and b-axis but hardly influences the growth rate along c-axis. As a result, the boundaries between the surface crystals become a little larger with prolonging the period of ageing time. The growth rate of the mordenite crystal along individual axes increases first and then decreases with increasing concentration of sodium hydroxide. A higher alkalinity is unfavorable for the formation of a continuous mordenite membrane. The addition of salt in the reaction mixture has different effect on the growth rate of the mordenite crystal along each axis. With increasing the amount of salt, there was hardly influence on the growth rate along c-axis, whereas an obvious decline was observed in the growth rate along either a-axis or b-axis, which enlarges the boundaries between the surface crystals. The growth rate of the mordenite crystal increases more along c-axis than that along a-axis or b-axis with increasing temperature for hydrothermal crystallization. The use of a temperature as high as 473 K produces a membrane composed of bar-like crystals with larger boundaries. __________ Translated from Journal of Zhejiang University (Science Edition), 2005, 32(4) (in Chinese)     

An improved model for crystalline orientation of spherulitic polymers

A model is proposed to account for the orientation of crystals in spherulites upon deforming a polymer. The model assumes affine deformation of the spherulite accompanied by three processes of crystal reorientation within the spherulite. These are tilting of molecular chains with respect to the plane of the lamellae, characterized by a parameter K, twisting of the lamallae about the spherulite radii described by η, and rotation of the b crystal axis about the c axis characterized by a third parameter, P. Values of these parameters are fitted to measured orientation functions and compared with experimental measurements of the azimuthal variation of the intensities of the 110 and 200 crystal reflections from low-density polyethylene. Good agreement is found between the experimental and theoretically predicted intensity variation. Time-dependent experiments under relaxational and vibrational conditions are also treated by the theory.     

X‐Ray and Electron Diffraction Study of Poly(p‐dioxanone)

Summary: Solution‐grown lamellar crystals of poly(p‐dioxanone) (PPDX) have been crystallized isothermally from butane‐1,4‐diol at 100 °C. The crystal structure of PPDX has been determined by interpretation of X‐ray fiber diagrams of PPDX fibers and electron diffraction diagrams of lozenge‐shaped chain‐folder lamellar crystals. The unit cell of PPDX is orthorhombic with space group P2₁2₁2₁ and parameters: a = 0.970 nm, b = 0.742 nm, and c (chain axis) = 0.682 nm. There are two chains per unit cell, which exist in an antiparallel arrangement.

Transmission electron micrograph of PPDX chain‐folded lamellar crystals obtained by isothermal crystallization and its electron diffraction diagram.     

Two regioisomers of condensed thioheterocyclic triazine synthesized from 6‐phenyl‐3‐thioxo‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,2,4‐triazin‐5‐one

In the crystal structure of 6‐phenyl‐3‐thioxo‐2,3,4,5‐tetrahydro‐1,2,4‐triazin‐5‐one, C₉H₇N₃OS, (I), the 1,2,4‐triazine moieties are connected by face‐to‐face contacts through two kinds of double hydrogen bonds (N—H...O and N—H...S), which form planar ribbons along the a axis. The ribbons are crosslinked through C—H...π interactions between the phenyl rings. The molecular structures of two regioisomeric compounds, namely 6‐phenyl‐2,3‐dihydro‐7H‐1,3‐thiazolo[3,2‐b][1,2,4]triazin‐7‐one, C₁₁H₉N₃OS, (II), and 3‐phenyl‐6,7‐dihydro‐4H‐1,3‐thiazolo[2,3‐c][1,2,4]triazin‐4‐one, C₁₁H₉N₃OS, (III), which were prepared by the condensation reaction of (I) with 1,2‐dibromoethane, have been characterized by X‐ray crystallography and spectroscopic studies. The crystal structures of (II) and (III) both show two crystallographically independent molecules. While the two compounds are isomers, the unit‐cell parameters and crystal packing are quite different and (II) has a chiral crystal structure.     

An x-ray pole figure analysis on biaxially deformed polyethylene film

The orientational states induced upon two-step biaxially stretching low-density polyethylene at 25°C have been investigated. A pole figure analysis of the (200), (020), and (002) crystalline planes has been employed to elucidate the evolution of the molecular crystalline orientation as a function of biaxial stretching. The initial uniaxial-like orientation induced along the extrusion direction of the films was gradually lost upon transverse stretching and, consequently, replaced by a biaxial orientation as suggested by the orientation functions. In these cases, the a crystallographic axis was observed to be strongly oriented along the film normal, thus confining the c and b axes to the film plane. The pole figures clearly indicate that the c and b axes are preferentially aligned 45° with respect to the stretching directions. This unique orientational state of the orthorhombic unit cell of polyethylene has been termed a biaxial-double orientation. Birefringence measurements on the biaxial samples indicated that the amorphous and crystalline regions are simultaneously biaxially oriented. The evolution of the crystalline orientation as a function of stretching was conveniently followed on a White/Spruiell orientation triangle. Quantification was hindered, however, by the presence of different crystal populations in the biaxially stretched samples. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Crystal deformation during the growth of kink bands in oriented polyethylene

When oriented polyethylene is sheared at an angle to the orientation axis, kink bands often develop and grow, with a resulting change of the crystalline orientation. Beside the crystalline reorientation, the following changes within the kink bands have been observed with wide-angle x-rays: (a) partial transformation to a monoclinic from the normal orthorhombic unit cell; (b) partial alignment of the orthorhombic b axes; (c) rotation of the orthorhombic c axes of a fraction of the crystals around the kinks by an extra 40 to 60° beyond that of the fibrils; and (d) misalignment of the orthorhombic (hk0) planes by a few degrees. These results are suggested to arise, at least in part, from crystal flattening and from crystal twinning or pseudotwinning on planes intersecting the molecular axes.     

Redrawing of oriented polyethylene film

Drawn and subsequently annealed polyethylene film was restretched along the original draw axis at various temperatures. The internal deformation was analyzed in terms of the structural parameters of a simplified model. The elementary deformations are the rotation of crystals around the b axis and shear at the crystal interface. The rigidity of the crystal plays an important role during extension; and as a result, disorientation of chains in the crystal occurs at high strain. At the same time, crystals deform in such a way that the crystalline chains tilt about the b axis along the (h00) plane. This deformation of the crystal is affected by temperature. The increase in long spacing with extension can be interpreted roughly by the changes in structural parameters. The strain in amorphous region in also discussed in relation to these parameters.