Understanding solid-state reactions of organic crystals with density functional theory-based concepts

Solid-state reactions are commonly observed in organic crystals, including pharmaceutical and agricultural materials, fine chemicals, dyes, explosives, optics, and many other substances. The fact that these reactions are in general highly anisotropic with regard to the initiation and propagation in a crystal has led to this study for investigating the effect of crystal packing on the reaction mechanism and kinetics of organic crystals. We have used electron density-based concepts, including nuclear Fukui function, developed from density functional theory, for elucidating the effect of electronic structures of different polymorphs on the difference in their chemical reactivity. Two polymorphs of flufenamic acid were studied. The calculation results on major reacting faces of the two forms support their reactivity difference with ammonia gas. In addition, we calculated surface energies of reacting faces to discuss how the mechanical difference may affect the propagation of solid-state reaction.     

Hydrogen-bonding contributions to the lattice energy of salts for second harmonic generation

The lattice energies of a series of organic dihydrogenphosphate salts capable of second harmonic generation (SHG) have been calculated. These calculations, coupled with empirical data, indicate that a minimum of 20–25% of the lattice energy arises from hydrogen-bond interactions. Hydrogen bonding is shown to be a strong enough force to have a profound effect on the overall packing and crystal geometry of such ionic materials, and is thus an important factor to consider for crystal engineering.     

A Flexible Organic Single Crystal with Plastic-Twisting and Elastic-Bending Capabilities and Polarization-Rotation Function

Flexible organic single crystals capable of plastic or elastic deformations have a variety of potential applications. Although the integration of plasticity and elasticity in a crystal is theoretically possible and it may cause rich and complex deformations which are highly demanded for potential applications, the integration is hard to realize in practice. Here, we show that through utilizing different modes of external forces for influencing molecular packing in different crystallographic directions, plastic helical twisting and elastic bending can both be achieved for a crystal, and they can even be realized simultaneously. Detailed crystallographic analyses and contrast experiments disclose the mechanisms behind these two kinds of distinct deformations and their mutual compatibility. Based on the plastically twistable nature of the crystal, a new application field of flexible organic single crystals, namely polarization rotators, is successfully opened up.     

A Flexible Organic Single Crystal with Plastic‐Twisting and Elastic‐Bending Capabilities and Polarization‐Rotation Function

Flexible organic single crystals capable of plastic or elastic deformations have a variety of potential applications. Although the integration of plasticity and elasticity in a crystal is theoretically possible and it may cause rich and complex deformations which are highly demanded for potential applications, the integration is hard to realize in practice. Here, we show that through utilizing different modes of external forces for influencing molecular packing in different crystallographic directions, plastic helical twisting and elastic bending can both be achieved for a crystal, and they can even be realized simultaneously. Detailed crystallographic analyses and contrast experiments disclose the mechanisms behind these two kinds of distinct deformations and their mutual compatibility. Based on the plastically twistable nature of the crystal, a new application field of flexible organic single crystals, namely polarization rotators, is successfully opened up.     

Experimental Confirmation of a Predicted Porous Hydrogen-Bonded Organic Framework

Hydrogen-bonded organic frameworks (HOFs) with low densities and high porosities are rare and challenging to design because most molecules have a strong energetic preference for close packing. Crystal structure prediction (CSP) can rank the crystal packings available to an organic molecule based on their relative lattice energies. This has become a powerful tool for the a priori design of porous molecular crystals. Previously, we combined CSP with structure-property predictions to generate energy-structure-function (ESF) maps for a series of triptycene-based molecules with quinoxaline groups. From these ESF maps, triptycene trisquinoxalinedione (TH5) was predicted to form a previously unknown low-energy HOF (TH5-A) with a remarkably low density of 0.374 g cm⁻³ and three-dimensional (3D) pores. Here, we demonstrate the reliability of those ESF maps by discovering this TH5-A polymorph experimentally. This material has a high accessible surface area of 3,284 m² g⁻¹, as measured by nitrogen adsorption, making it one of the most porous HOFs reported to date.     

Conformational disorder in 4‐(5,5′‐dibromo‐2′‐chloro‐4,4′‐bipyridyl‐2‐yl)benzaldehyde: role of π–π and halogen interactions

The crystal packing of the title compound, C₁₇H₉Br₂ClN₂O, is governed by strong π–π stacking, where molecules are tightly bound within infinite (100) planes; these planes interact mainly through non‐optimal π–π stacking where arene rings are noticeably displaced from perfect overlap, and also through halogen–halogen interactions. The aldehyde group shows conformational disorder, with a significant population difference between the two conformers; this difference is rationalized by the energetic analysis of the crystal packing using the PIXEL method, which also allows a decomposition of intermolecular interaction energy into Coulombic, polarization, dispersion and repulsion contributions. Using such an analysis, it is found that the main reason for this unequal population of the two conformers in the crystal is two hydrogen bonds that are present only for the major conformer.     

Correlation between crystal structure and mobility in organic field-effect transistors based on single crystals of tetrathiafulvalene derivatives

Recently, it was reported that crystals of the organic material dithiophene-tetrathiafulvalene (DT-TTF) have a high field-effect charge carrier mobility of 1.4 cm(2)/(V x s). These crystals were formed by a simple drop-casting method, making this material interesting to investigate for possible applications in low-cost electronics. Here, organic single-crystal field-effect transistors based on materials related to DT-TTF are presented and a clear correlation between the crystal structure and the electrical characteristics is observed. The observed relationship between the mobilities in the different crystal structures is strongly corroborated by calculations of both the molecular reorganization energies and the maximum intermolecular transfer integrals. The most suitable materials described here exhibit mobilities that are among the highest reported for organic field-effect transistors and that are the highest reported for solution-processed materials.     

Accurate lattice energies of organic molecular crystals from periodic turbomole calculations

Accurate lattice energies of organic crystals are important i.e. for the pharmaceutical industry. Periodic DFT calculations with atom‐centered Gaussian basis functions with the Turbomole program are used to calculate lattice energies for several non‐covalently bound organic molecular crystals. The accuracy and convergence of results with basis set size and k‐space sampling from periodic calculations is evaluated for the two reference molecules benzoic acid and naphthalene. For the X23 benchmark set of small molecular crystals accurate lattice energies are obtained using the PBE‐D3 functional. In particular for hydrogen‐bonded systems, a sufficiently large basis set is required. The calculated lattice energy differences between enantiopure and racemic crystal forms for a prototype set of chiral molecules are in good agreement with experimental results and allow the rationalization and computer‐aided design of chiral separation processes. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

First-principles band gap criterion for impact sensitivity of energetic crystals: a review

In this article, we review some recent studies in predicting impact sensitivity for different classes of energetic crystals based on first-principles band gap. Based on these investigations on metal azides, a first-principles band gap criterion is founded to measure impact sensitivity for a series of energetic crystals. For energetic crystals with similar structure or with similar thermal decomposition mechanism, the smaller the band gap is, the easier the electron transfers from the valence band to the conduction band, and the more they becomes decomposed and exploded. Applications of this criterion on other series of energetic crystals show that the first-principles band gap criterion is applicable to different series of energetic crystals with similar structure or with similar thermal decomposition mechanism. This criterion may be useful for molecular design of high-energy density materials.     

Intermolecular interactions,vibrational spectra,and detonation performance of CL-20/TNT cocrystal

We report the structural properties, intermolecular interactions (Hirshfeld surface analysis and reduced density gradient [RDG] analysis), radial distribution function analysis, vibrational frequencies, and detonation performance for the pure ε-CL-20, TNT, and ε-CL-20/TNT cocrystal to understand how noncovalent interactions affect the impact sensitivity of the cocrystals. The results indicate that the simulated lattice parameters and densities of all the three crystals were consistent with the experiments. Major driving forces for the formation of the ε-CL-20/TNT cocrystal are O H and N O interactions, but the O O interactions may serve as a crucial stabilizing force. The calculated Raman spectra of the CL-20/TNT cocrystal and the experimental result have the same trend. The Roman peaks of the cocrystal in the range 1,200–1,750 cm⁻¹ may result from the coupling of the ε-CL-20 and TNT molecules. Similar crystal packing for TNT and CL-20 leads to the high density for the cocrystal. The cocrystal displays low impact sensitivity because of the p–π interactions. Our work may offer useful information for cocrystallization technology and its practical applications in the field of energetic materials.     

Comprehensive assessment of physicochemical properties of new energetic materials

The review presents original methodological approaches and summarizes the results of research into the assessment of relationships between the structure of energetic organic compounds and their main physicochemical properties. A large number of experimental values of these parameters were statistically analyzed, and a database of the properties of explosives and rocket propellant ingredients was created. Based on the analysis and integration of these data, approaches were developed to evaluate the fundamental properties of energetic compounds of different chemical classes, such as the enthalpy of formation, the molecular crystal density, and the sensitivity to mechanical impacts. The explosive and ballistic characteristics were calculated. The comprehensive assessment was made of the possible applications of new substances and those poorly characterized by experimental methods.     

Analogies and differences between two ways to evaluate the global hardness

The weight of the energetic components (electronic kinetic, electron-nucleus and electron-electron Coulombic, and correlation energies) of the ionization potential, electron affinity, chemical potential, and global hardness is evaluated and contrasted with the energetic components of the hardness kernel and the experimental values of these properties for 40 systems. The contrast of the hardness terms obtained from finite difference and hardness kernel gives some insight on the possible implications to differentiate the electronic energy with respect to the number electrons or the electron density.     

Molecular Dynamics Simulations of Energetic Solids

A continuing objective in the area of energetic materials is to reduce sensitivity toward impact and shock. One approach is to develop a better understanding of how factors related to the crystal lattice, e.g., defects, influence the initiation and propagation of detonation. Molecular dynamics is a useful tool for this purpose. This paper presents an overview of molecular dynamics treatments of energetic solids. Some of these have simulated initiation and propagation in idealized systems; others have focused on developing a satisfactory procedure for describing molecular crystals of practical significance. Our emphasis in this discussion is on the progress that has been made along the second lines.     

Relationship Between Molecular Structure,Single crystal Packing and Self-Assembly Behavior: A Case Based on Pyrene Imide Derivatives

Development of new n-type one-dimensional (1D) self-assembly nanostructure and a clear understanding of the relationship between molecular structure and self-assembly behavior are important prerequisites for further designing and optimizing organic optoelectronic nanodevice. In this article, a series of n-type organic semiconductor materials based on pyrene imide were successfully synthesized through [4+2] cycloaddition reactions and their preliminary optical and electrochemical properties were studied. The simulated HOMO-LUMO bandgaps via DFT tallied with the experimental data well. The self-assembly of these materials showed needle or fiber-like morphologies, indicating that different conjugation degree or alkyl group had significant influence on their self-assembly behaviors. Furthermore, the single-crystal packing for these molecules were analyzed and it was found out that the changes of conjugated backbone and functional group would affect certain crystal lattice parameter significantly, such as the intermolecular packing distance and crystal size etc, which would further result in different self-assembly morphology.     

Computational study on energetic properties of nitro derivatives of furan substituted azoles

Density functional theory has been used to investigate geometries, heats of formation (HOFs), C-NO₂ bond dissociation energies (BDEs), and relative energetic properties of nitro derivatives of azole substituted furan. HOFs for a series of molecules were calculated by using density functional theory (DFT) and Møller–Plesset (MP2) methods. The density is predicted using crystal packing calculations; all the designed compounds show density above 1.71 g/cm³. The calculated detonation velocities and detonation pressures indicate that the nitro group is very helpful for enhancing the detonation performance for the designed compounds. Thermal stabilities have been evaluated from the bond dissociation energies. Charge on the nitro group was used to assess the impact sensitivity in this study. According to the results of the calculations, tri- and tetra-nitro substituted derivatives reveal high performance with better thermal stability.     

Comparative theoretical studies of energetic azo s-triazines

In this work, the properties of the synthesized high-nitrogen compounds 4,4',6,6'-tetra(azido)azo-1,3,5-triazine (TAAT) and 4,4',6,6'-tetra(azido)hydrazo-1,3,5-triazine (TAHT), and a set of designed bridged triazines with similar bridges were studied theoretically to facilitate further developments for the molecules of interests. The gas-phase heats of formation were predicted based on the isodesmic reactions by using the DFT-B3LYP/AUG-cc-PVDZ method. The estimates of the condensed-phase heats of formation and heats of sublimation were estimated in the framework of the Politzer approach. Calculation results show that the method gives a good estimation for enthalpies, in comparison with available experimental data for TAAT and TAHT. The crystal density has been computed using molecular packing calculations. The calculated detonation velocities and detonation pressures indicate that -NF(2), -NO(2), -N═N-, and -N═N(O)- groups are effective structural units for improving the detonation performance of the bridged triazines. The synthesized TAAT and TAHT are not preferred energetic materials due to their inferior detonation performance. The p→π conjugation effect between the triazine rings and bridges makes the molecule stable as a whole. The electrostatic behavior of the bridged triazines is characterized by an anomalous surface potential imbalance when incorporating the strongly electron-withdrawing -NF(2) and -NO(2) groups into the molecule. An analysis of the bond dissociation energies shows that all these derivatives have good thermal stability over RDX and HMX, and the -NH-NH- bridge is more helpful for improving the stability than -N═N(O)- and -N═N- bridges. Considering the detonation performance and thermal stability, three bridged triazines may be considered as the potential candidates of high-energy density materials (HEDMs).     

Crystallization Force—A Density Functional Theory Concept for Revealing Intermolecular Interactions and Molecular Packing in Organic Crystals

Organic molecules are prone to polymorphic formation in the solid state due to the rich diversity of functional groups that results in comparable intermolecular interactions, which can be greatly affected by the selection of solvent and other crystallization conditions. Intermolecular interactions are typically weak forces, such as van der Waals and stronger short‐range ones including hydrogen bonding, that are believed to determine the packing of organic molecules during the crystal‐growth process. A different packing of the same molecules leads to the formation of a new crystal structure. To disclose the underlying causes that drive the molecule to have various packing motifs in the solid state, an electronic concept or function within the framework of conceptual density functional theory has been developed, namely, crystallization force. The concept aims to describe the local change in electronic structure as a result of the self‐assembly process of crystallization and may likely quantify the locality of intermolecular interactions that directs the molecular packing in a crystal. To assess the applicability of the concept, 5‐methyl‐2‐[(2‐nitrophenyl)amino]‐3‐thiophenecarbonitrile, so‐called ROY, which is known to have the largest number of solved polymorphs, has been examined. Electronic calculations were conducted on the seven available crystal structures as well as on the single molecule. The electronic structures were analyzed and crystallization force values were obtained. The results indicate that the crystallization forces are able to reveal intermolecular interactions in the crystals, in particular, the close contacts that are formed between molecules. Strong correlations exist between the total crystallization force and lattice energy of a crystal structure, further suggesting the underlying connection between the crystallization force and molecular packing.     

Di- and Tetracyano-Substituted Pyrene-Fused Pyrazaacenes: Aggregation in the Solid State

Five di- and tetracyano-substituted pyrene-fused pyrazaacenes were synthesized and studied as potential electron acceptors in the solid state. Single crystals of all compounds were grown and the crystal packing studied by DFT calculations (transfer integrals and reorganization energies) to get insight into possible use for semiconducting charge transport.     

Chain packing modes in crystalline surfactant and lipid bilayers

The main features of a subcell catalogue for the packing of molecules with long alkyl chains were developed in the period of 1950–1975 based on single crystal studies. In the last number of years many deviations from these typical packing modes in a subcell lattice were found and analyzed, particularly for surfactant molecules. From early on, energy approximations were already presented, but these became more dominant with the progress in hardware and software developments. Recently, new inputs are coming from the calculation of lattice energies for chain packing modes in connection with new experimental results. In this contribution, the most common chain packing modes already suggested in published papers are presented. The different packing modes are analyzed using lattice energy calculations. The results are discussed using a presentation method that allows us to find out interrelations between various packing modes.