The Role of Weak Interactions in the Mechano‐induced Single‐Crystal‐to‐Single‐Crystal Phase Transition of 8‐Hydroxyquinoline‐Based Co‐crystals

Mechano‐induced single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal (SCSC) phase transitions in crystalline materials that change their properties have received more and more attention. However, there are still too few examples to study molecular‐level mechanisms in the mechano‐induced SCSC phase transitions, making the systematic and in‐depth understanding very difficult. We report that bis‐(8‐hydroxyquinolinato) palladium(II)‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (PdQ₂‐TCNQ) and bis‐(8‐hydroxyquinolinato) copper(II)‐tetracyanoquinodimethane (CuQ₂‐TCNQ) show very different mechano‐response behaviors during the SCSC phase transition. Phase transition in CuQ₂‐TCNQ can be triggered by pricking on the crystal surface, while in PdQ₂‐TCNQ it can only be induced by applying pressure uniformly over the whole crystal face. The crystallography data and Hirshfeld surface analysis indicate that the weak intra‐layer C?H???O, C?H???N hydrogen bonds and inter‐layer stacking interactions determine the feasibility of the SCSC phase transition by mechanical stimuli. Weaker intra‐layer interactions and looser inter‐layer stacking make the SCSC phase transition occur much more easily in the CuQ₂‐TCNQ.     

Visualizing the Dynamics of Temperature‐ and Solvent‐Responsive Soft Crystals

We demonstrate that three flexible MOFs termed FJI‐H11‐R (FJI‐H=Hong's group in Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, R=Me, Et, ⁱPr) can reversibly respond to temperature and solvents via structural transformations, which can be visualized by in situ single‐crystal X‐ray snapshot analyses. FJI‐H11‐R exhibit colossal anisotropic thermal expansion, with a record‐high uniaxial positive thermal‐expansion coefficient of 653.2×10^?6 K^?1 observed in FJI‐H11‐Me. Additionally, large c‐axial shrinkage of 32.4 % is also observed during desolvation. The stimuli‐responsive mechanism reveals the structural evolutions are related to the rotations and deformations of the organic linkers.     

Molecular‐Level Understanding of the Carbonisation of Polysaccharides

Understanding of both the textural and functionality changes occurring during (mesoporous) polysaccharide carbonisation at the molecular level provides a deeper insight into the whole spectrum of material properties, from chemical activity to pore shape and surface energy, which is crucial for the successful application of carbonaceous materials in adsorption, catalysis and chromatography. Obtained information will help to identify the most appropriate applications of the carbonaceous material generated during torrefaction and different types of pyrolysis processes and therefore will be important for the development of cost‐ and energy‐efficient zero‐waste biorefineries. The presented approach is informative and semi‐quantitative with the potential to be extended to the formation of other biomass‐derived carbonaceous materials.     

Room‐Temperature Ferroelectric Material Composed of a Two‐Dimensional Metal Halide Double Perovskite for X‐ray Detection

Although two‐dimensional (2D) metal–halide double perovskites display versatile physical properties due to their huge structural compatibility, room‐temperature ferroelectric behavior has not yet been reported for this fascinating family. Here, we designed a room‐temperature ferroelectric material composed of 2D halide double perovskites, (chloropropylammonium)₄AgBiBr₈, using an organic asymmetric dipolar ligand. It exhibits concrete ferroelectricity, including a Curie temperature of 305 K and a notable spontaneous polarization of ≈3.2 μC cm^?2, triggered by dynamic ordering of the organic cation and the tilting motion of heterometallic AgBr₆/BiBr₆ octahedra. Besides, the alternating array of inorganic perovskite sheets and organic cations endows large mobility‐lifetime product (μτ=1.0×10^?3 cm² V^?1) for detecting X‐ray photons, which is almost tenfold higher than that of CH₃NH₃PbI₃ wafers. As far as we know, this is the first study on an X‐ray‐sensitive ferroelectric material composed of 2D halide double perovskites. Our findings afford a promising platform for exploring new ferroelectric materials toward further device applications.     

Giant Enhancement of Second Harmonic Generation Accompanied by the Structural Transformation of 7‐Fold to 8‐Fold Interpenetrated Metal–Organic Frameworks (MOFs)

Interpenetration in metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) is an intriguing phenomenon with significant impacts on their properties, and functional applications. Herein, we show that a 7‐fold interpenetrated MOF ( 1 ) is transformed into an 8‐fold interpenetrated MOF by the loss of DMF in a single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal manner. This is accompanied by a giant enhancement of the second harmonic generation (SHG ca. 125 times) and two‐photon photoluminescence (ca. 14 times). The strengthened π–π interaction between the individual diamondoid networks and intensified oscillator strength of the molecules aid the augment of dipole moments and boost the nonlinear optical conversion efficiency. Large positive and negative thermal expansions of 1 occur at 30–150 °C before the loss of DMF. These results offer an avenue to manipulate the NLO properties of MOFs using interpenetration and provide access to tunable single‐crystal NLO devices.     

Non‐Porous Iron(II)‐Based Sensor: Crystallographic Insights into a Cycle of Colorful Guest‐Induced Topotactic Transformations

Materials capable of sensing volatile guests at room temperature by an easily monitored set of outputs are of great appeal for development as chemical sensors of small volatile organics and toxic gases. Herein the dinuclear iron(II) complex, [Fe^II₂( L )₂(CH₃CN)₄](BF₄)₄?2 CH₃CN ( 1 ) [ L =4‐(4‐methylphenyl)‐3‐(3‐pyridazinyl)‐5‐pyridyl‐4H‐1,2,4‐triazole], is shown to undergo reversible single‐crystal‐to‐single‐crystal (SCSC) transformations upon exposure to vapors of different guests: 1 (MeCN)? 2 (EtOH)→ 3 (H₂O)? 1 (MeCN). Whilst 1 and 2 remain dimetallic, SCSC to 3 involves conversion to a 1D polymeric chain (due to a change in L bridging mode), which, remarkably, can undergo SCSC de‐polymerization, reforming dimetallic 1 . Additionally, SC‐XRD studies of two ordered transient forms, 1TF3 and 2TF3 , confirm that guest exchange occurs by diffusion of the new guests into the non‐porous lattices as the old guests leave. These reversible SCSC events also induce color and magnetic responses. Indeed dark red 1 is spin crossover active (T_1/2↓ 356 K; T_1/2↑ 369 K), whilst orange 2 and yellow 3 remain high spin.     

Light‐Induced Water Splitting Causes High‐Amplitude Oscillation of pH‐Sensitive Layer‐by‐Layer Assemblies on TiO2

We introduce a simple concept of a light induced pH change, followed by high amplitude manipulation of the mechanical properties of an adjacent polymer film. Irradiation of a titania surface is known to cause water splitting, and this can be used to reduce the environmental pH to pH 4. The mechanical modulus of an adjacent pH sensitive polymer film can thus be changed by more than an order of magnitude. The changes can be localized, maintained for hours and repeated without material destruction.     

Smart Organic Two‐Dimensional Materials Based on a Rational Combination of Non‐covalent Interactions

Rational design of organic 2D (O2D) materials has made some progress, but it is still in its infancy. A class of self‐assembling small molecules is presented that form nano/microscale supramolecular 2D materials in aqueous media. A judicial combination of four different intermolecular interactions forms the basis for the robust formation of these ultrathin assemblies. These assemblies can be programmed to disassemble in response to a specific protein and release its non‐covalently bound guest molecules.     

Reversible Luminescent Switching in an Organic Cocrystal: Multi‐Stimuli‐Induced Crystal‐to‐Crystal Phase Transformation

A luminescent cocrystal system is reported to undergo crystal‐to‐crystal phase transformation from yellow‐emitting polymorph I to green‐emitting polymorph II, triggered by THF fuming or heating, and the green emission can recover to the initial yellow emission by grinding. The established spectroscopic and crystallographic analyses demonstrate that the phase transition occurred and benefits from the combined effect of similar molecular arrange sequence and unique alteration of intermolecular interactions from halogen/hydrogen bonds in I to π–π stacking in II. Furthermore, I and II exhibit red‐shift emission under hydrostatic pressure. The emission of I and II shows a red‐shift and recovers towards the initial emission upon acid–base fuming. This is a rare example of reversible luminescent switching of cocrystal based upon crystal‐to‐crystal phase transition, and provides an alternative strategy to develop multi‐stimuli responsive materials.     

Successive phase transitions of <Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-methylbenzyl alcohol crystal studied by X-ray and adiabatic calorimetry

Summary Crystal structures of the room-temperature (RT) and low-temperature (LT) phases of p-methylbenzyl alcohol were reexamined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction method while paying special attention to detect structural disorder in the RT phase involved in successive structural phase transitions at 179 and 210 K. In the RT phase at 250 K, positional disorder of oxygen atoms was detected in contrast to the previous structure report. The structure of the LT phase coincided to the previous one. Heat capacities were measured by adiabatic calorimetry below 350 K, which covers the structural phase transitions and fusion at 331.87 K. The structural phase transitions were of first-order and required long time for completion. The combined magnitude of entropies of transition was ca. 5 J K^-1 mol^-1, a part of which can be ascribed to the positional disorder observed in the structure analysis. Standard thermodynamic functions are tabulated below 350 K.     

Molecular‐Level Insights into the Oxidative Degradation of Grafted Amines

The oxidative degradation of CO₂ adsorbents consisting of amine‐grafted pore‐expanded mesoporous MCM‐41 silica was investigated. The adsorbents were treated under flowing air at various temperatures, and the degree of deactivation was evaluated through the measurement of their CO₂ adsorption capacity prior and subsequent to exposure to air. To decipher the chemical structure of surface species upon air‐deactivation of grafted amines, a solvent extraction procedure was developed using a deuterated basic solution. The obtained solutions were analyzed by a variety of 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy techniques, such as ²⁹Si, ¹³C, ¹H, [¹H,¹⁵N] HMBC, [¹H,¹³C] HMQC, COSY and DOSY. The surface species generated by oxidative degradation of amine‐grafted silica were found to contain functional groups such as imine, amide and carboxylic groups. Several structural units were conclusively demonstrated.     

Structural Changes of Cellulose Crystallites Induced by Mercerisation in Different Solvent Systems; Determined by Powder X-ray Diffraction Method

The completeness of mercerisation can be evaluated by investigating the changes in the crystalline regions of cellulose from cellulose I (C-I) to cellulose II (C-II) by the X-ray powder diffraction method. Mercerisation experiments in four different solution systems: ethanol/water, acetone, DMSO and xylene, are reported. Also the effect of some additives, external pressure, treatment time and alkalisation temperature were studied. In two-phase solvent systems, structural changes of cellulose crystallites depended primarily on the distribution and solubility of sodium hydroxide in the solvent phases. The sodium hydroxide concentration in the hydrophilic phase must exceed 7–8 w/w-% before complete crystal change from C-I to C-II can occur. The precipitation of sodium hydroxide due to high concentration prevents the successful use of one-phase ethanol/water system in slurry process. On the contrary, the 2-propanol/water/sodium hydroxide system separates into two layers; to the water-rich lower layer and the 2-propanol-rich upper layer, where the sodium hydroxide remains mainly in the water-rich lower layer. This prevents the precipitation of sodium hydroxide and promotes the alkalisation of cellulose. Ammonium chloride and ammonium hydroxide clearly had a positive effect by promoting the crystal changes, however, the urea concentration used in this study was obviously too small. In the advantageous two-phase 2-propanol/water systems, the alkalisation time was only 15 min when the treatment temperature was kept between 0 and 10 °C. Reduced external pressure was found to have a small but still detectable positive effect on cellulose alkalisation while over-pressure prevented crystal changes.     

Thermotropic Liquid Crystals Based on Extended 2,5‐Disubstituted‐1,3,4‐Oxadiazoles: Structure–Property Relationships,Variable‐Temperature Powder X‐ray Diffraction,and Small‐Angle X‐ray Scattering Studies

A class of extended 2,5‐disubstituted‐1,3,4‐oxadiazoles R¹‐C₆H₄‐{OC₂N₂}‐C₆H₄‐R² (R¹=R²=C₁₀H₂₁O 1 a , p‐C₁₀H₂₁O‐C₆H₄‐C?C 3 a , p‐CH₃O‐C₆H₄‐C?C 3 b ; R¹=C₁₀H₂₁O, R²=CH₃O 1 b , (CH₃)₂N 1 c ; F 1 d ; R¹=C₁₀H₂₁O‐C₆H₄‐C?C, R²=C₁₀H₂₁O 2 a , CH₃O 2 b , (CH₃)₂N 2 c , F 2 d ) were prepared, and their liquid‐crystalline properties were examined. In CH₂Cl₂ solution, these compounds displayed a room‐temperature emission with λ_max at 340–471 nm and quantum yields of 0.73–0.97. Compounds 1 d , 2 a – 2 d , and 3 a exhibited various thermotropic mesophases (monotropic, enantiotropic nematic/smectic), which were examined by polarized‐light optical microscopy and differential scanning calorimetry. Structure determination by a direct‐space approach using simulated annealing or parallel tempering of the powder X‐ray diffraction data revealed distinctive crystal‐packing arrangements for mesogenic molecules 2 b and 3 a , leading to different nematic mesophase behavior, with 2 b being monotropic and 3 a enantiotropic in the narrow temperature range of 200–210 °C. The structural transitions associated with these crystalline solids and their mesophases were studied by variable‐temperature X‐ray diffractometry. Nondestructive phase transitions (crystal‐to‐crystal, crystal‐to‐mesophase, mesophase‐to‐liquid) were observed in the diffractograms of 1 b, 1 d , 2 b, 2 d , and 3 a measured at 25–200 °C. Powder X‐ray diffraction and small‐angle X‐ray scattering data revealed that the structure of the annealed solid residue 2 b reverted to its original crystal/molecular packing when the isotropic liquid was cooled to room temperature. Structure–property relationships within these mesomorphic solids are discussed in the context of their molecular structures and intermolecular interactions.     

Postsynthetic Functionalization of Three‐Dimensional Covalent Organic Frameworks for Selective Extraction of Lanthanide Ions

Chemical functionalization of covalent organic frameworks (COFs) is critical for tuning their properties and broadening their potential applications. However, the introduction of functional groups, especially to three‐dimensional (3D) COFs, still remains largely unexplored. Reported here is a general strategy for generating a 3D carboxy‐functionalized COF through postsynthetic modification of a hydroxy‐functionalized COF, and for the first time exploration of the 3D carboxy‐functionalized COF in the selective extraction of lanthanide ions. The obtained COF shows high crystallinity, good chemical stability, and large specific surface area. Furthermore, the carboxy‐functionalized COF displays high metal loading capacities together with excellent adsorption selectivity for Nd³⁺ over Sr²⁺ and Fe³⁺ as confirmed by the Langmuir adsorption isotherms and ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) calculations. This study not only provides a strategy for versatile functionalization of 3D COFs, but also opens a way to their use in environmentally related applications.     

Structural Stability of LiCoO2 at 400°C

The relative stability of the lithiated-spinel structure, Li₂[Co₂]O₄, at 400°C to the layered LiCoO₂ structure has been investigated. “Low-temperature” LT-LiCoO₂ samples were synthesized at 400°C by the solid-state reaction of Li₂CO₃ with CoCO₃ (or Co₃O₄) for various times between 10 min and 232 days. Least-squares refinements of X-ray powder diffraction patterns were used to determine the fractions of lithiated-spinel Li₂[Co₂]O₄ and layered LiCoO₂ in the samples. X-ray powder diffraction and transmission electron microscope data show that Li₂[Co₂]O₄ nucleates from an intermediate Li_xCo_1−x[Co₂]O₄ spinel product before transforming very slowly to layered LiCoO₂. The experimental data confirm the theoretical prediction that layered LiCoO₂ is thermodynamically more stable than the lithiated-spinel structure at 400°C and support the arguments that a non-ideal cation distribution in Li₂[Co₂]O₄, non-stoichiometry and kinetic factors restrict the transformation of the lithiated-spinel structure to layered LiCoO₂ at this temperature.     

Molecular‐Level Understanding of the Photocatalytic Activity Difference between Anatase and Rutile Nanoparticles

The generation of oxidants on illuminated photocatalysts and their participation in subsequent reactions are the main basis of the widely investigated photocatalytic processes for environmental remediation and selective oxidation. Here, the generation and the subsequent diffusion of ^.OH from the illuminated TiO₂ surface to the solution bulk were directly observed using a single‐molecule detection method and this molecular phenomenon could explain the different macroscopic behavior of anatase and rutile in photocatalysis. The mobile ^.OH is generated on anatase but not on rutile. Therefore, the photocatalytic oxidation on rutile is limited to adsorbed substrates whereas that on anatase is more facile and versatile owing to the presence of mobile ^.OH. The ability of anatase to generate mobile ^.OH is proposed as a previously unrecognized key factor that explains the common observations that anatase has higher activity than rutile for many photooxidative reactions.     

Phase Transitions and Structural Changes in DPPC Liposomes Induced by a 1-Carba-Alpha-Tocopherol Analogue

Steady-state emission spectroscopy of 1-anilino-8- naphthalene sulfonate (ANS) and 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH), fluorescence anisotropy, and DSC methods were used to characterize the interactions of the newly synthesized 1-carba-alpha-tocopherol (CT) with a 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) membrane. The DSC results showed significant perturbations in the DPPC structure for CT concentrations as low as 2 mol%. The main phase transition peak was broadened and shifted to lower temperatures in a concentration-dependent manner, and pretransition was abolished. Increasing CT concentrations induced the formation of new phases in the DPPC structure, leading to melting at lower temperatures and, finally, disruption of the ordered DPPC structure. Hydration and structural changes of the DPPC liposomes using ANS and DPH fluorescent probes, which are selectively located at different places in the bilayer, were studied. With the increased concentration of CT molecules in the DPPC liposomes, structural changes with the simultaneous formation of different phases of such mixture were observed. Temperature studies of such mixtures revealed a decrease in the temperature of the main phase transition and fluidization at decreasing temperatures related to increasing hydration in the bilayer. Contour plots obtained from concentration–temperature data with fluorescent probes allowed for identification of different phases, such as gel, ordered liquid, disordered liquid, and liquid crystalline phases. The CT molecule with a modified chromanol ring embedded in the bilayer led to H-bonding interactions, expelling water molecules from the interphase, thus introducing disorder and structural changes to the highly ordered gel phase.