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Defining the Halogen Bond – IUPAC task group need your input!

02 Nov 2010

How would you define a Halogen Bond?

CrystEngComm authors Pierangelo Metrangolo and Giuseppe Resnati are chairing an IUPAC task group looking at the classification of halogen bonds.

The task group’s objective is to give a modern definition of halogen bonding, which takes into account all current experimental and theoretical pieces of information on both gaseous and condensed halogen-bonded systems in chemical and biological systems.

The group intend the whole community of researchers dealing with the study and use of intermolecular interactions to be involved in this Project. A dedicated web-site has been set-up as a public discussion forum for consideration of public comments. The Project will be featured in major meetings relevant to related fields, in particular at the XXII General Assembly and Congress of the International Union of Crystallography (IUCr) to be held in Madrid, Spain, in 22–29 August 2011. In the second year of the Project, an international symposium open to the public will be organized, for consideration of public comments, presentation, and dissemination of results.

Just before the IUCr Madrid Congress, and a satellite event to it, an international workshop open to the public will be organized in Sigüenza, Guadalajara (August 20-21), for consideration of public comments, presentation, and dissemination of results. For more info contact the scientific secretariat serena.biella@polimi.it or gabriella.cavallo@polimi.it.

The group membership includes Professor Gautam Desiraju (Bangalore, India), founding Editorial Board member, and current Advisory Board member of CrystEngComm and Kari Rissanen (Jyväskylä, Finland), former Advisory Board member of CrystEngComm.

The task group need your input and so we invite you post a comment below to join the discussion and give us your opinion on the definition of a halogen bond.

Follow the links below to read CrystEngComm Highlights with a focus on halogen bonding:

Halogen bonded supramolecular complexes and networks
Kari Rissanen
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 1107-1113 DOI: 10.1039/B803329N

Combining metals with halogen bonds
Lee Brammer, Guillermo Mínguez Espallargas and Stefano Libri
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 1712-1727

Anion coordination and anion-templated assembly under halogen bonding control
Pierangelo Metrangolo, Tullio Pilati, Giancarlo Terraneo, Serena Biella and Giuseppe Resnati
CrystEngComm, 2009, 11, 1187-1196 DOI: 10.1039/B821300C

Or read a recent CrystEngComm interview with Task Group Chair Pierangelo Metrangolo here.

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Interview: Keiichiro Ogawa talks to CrystEngComm

02 Nov 2010

Keiichiro Ogawa talks to CrystEngComm about his love of opera and colours in organic crystals

Keiichiro Ogawa is a professor of chemistry at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, University of Tokyo, Japan. His research is aimed at the understanding and control of the dynamic behaviour of organic compounds and other molecular assemblies in crystals. Keiichiro was awarded the Crystallographic Society Japan Award in 1997 and recently a Chemical Society of Japan Contribution Award in 2007. He is a member of the CrystEngComm Advisory Board.

Why did you to become a scientist?

Having grown up in a family of three generations of scientists, I have wanted to be a scientist since boyhood. In particular, I was intrigued by science because it unravels the mysteries of the universe, and leads to technologies that contribute to our wellbeing.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

My group is working on solid-state reactions in organic crystals, particularly those related with color-changing phenomena, i.e., photochromism and thermochromism.

What do you think will be the next big breakthrough in your field?

Such a prediction is difficult but it will probably be the emergence of completely new methods for measuring these phenomena. If this happens it could provide totally a new insights into the world of matter, as brought about by the arrival of the analytical techniques in X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy.

How do you think crystal engineering will develop in the next five years?

As methodologies for detection of minor products are refined, organic solid state reaction mechanisms should become better understood. This will give us much a more comprehensive picture of what happens in a sequence of solid-state reactions.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

The excitement of presenting new findings and/or interpretations to an appreciative and expert audience!

What is the secret to a successful research group?

Good people and good projects are the most essential components for successful scientific research. I’ve been fortunate in having an excellent research colleague, very good students and some challenging research topics.

What achievement are you most proud of?

I am particularly proud at having found that an apparent shortening of the central bond of stilbene-type molecules is caused by the torsional vibrations in crystals (K. Ogawa et al., JACS, 1992, 114, 1041). This finding led to the discovery of a more prominent molecular motion, i.e., pedal motion in crystals (J. Harada and K. Ogawa, Chem. Soc. Rev., 2009, 38, 2244.).

What advice would you give to a young scientist?

Young scientists must understand their principal research topic as deeply as possible, while being aware of the broader thrust of the field. The wider view can often provide insights into the subject you are most interested in.

What would you do if you weren’t a scientist?

My hobby is opera singing and my dream would be to be a professional singer, though I know I don’t have sufficient talent to start this career. Music can move one’s heart instantly, even within a second. Science can also do this, though not so quickly as in music. The important thing for me is that they both give joy.

What is your favourite place to be?

If I must live and work in one place, it would definitely be Tokyo. I have lived in Tokyo since my birth and I find it a vibrant, safe, and beautiful city. I like to visit other places, particularly in foreign countries, but I always enjoy returning home.

More about Keiichiro on his webpage at the University of Tokyo.

Read some of Keiichiro’s research in the following CrystEngComm articles:

Crystalline-state conformational change of β-nitrostyrenes and its freezing at low temperature
Jun Harada, Mayuko Harakawa and Keiichiro Ogawa
CrystEngComm, 2009, 11, 638-642 DOI: 10.1039/B815869J

Single crystal cis–trans photoisomerizations of 2-(9-anthrylmethylene)-1-indanones
Jun Harada, Mayuko Harakawa, Shingo Sugiyama and Keiichiro Ogawa
CrystEngComm, 2009, 11, 1235-1239 DOI: 10.1039/B821900A

Conformational change of all-trans-1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene in two crystalline forms
Jun Harada, Mayuko Harakawa and Keiichiro Ogawa
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 1777-1781 DOI: 10.1039/B811220G

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Hydrogen bond defined

27 Oct 2010

An IUPAC task group has recently published their recommendations for the definition for the hydrogen bond.

“The hydrogen bond is an attractive interaction between a hydrogen atom from a molecule or a molecular fragment X–H in which X is more electronegative than H, and an atom or a group of atoms in the same or a different molecule, in which there is evidence of bond formation.”

The recommendations continue with a list of experimental and theoretical criteria that can be used as evidence for the presence of the hydrogen bond, and finish with characteristics that are typical of hydrogen bonded systems.

The task group membership includes Professor Gautam Desiraju (Bangalore, India), founding Editorial Board member, and current Advisory Board member of CrystEngComm.

For more information on the task group and to view the provisional recommendation see the IUPAC report.

Follow the links below to read two CrystEngComm Highlights with a focus on hydrogen bonding:

CH/π hydrogen bonds in organic and organometallic chemistry

Motohiro Nishio, Yoji Umezawa, Kazumasa Honda, Sei Tsuboyama and Hiroko Suezawa

CrystEngComm, 2009, 11, 1757-1788

and

Chain-link hydrogen-bonded capsules

Eric Bosch

CrystEngComm, 2007, 9, 191-198

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Len MacGillivray appointed as new CrystEngComm Editorial Board Chair

05 Oct 2010

Professor Len MacGillivray

I am delighted to announce that Professor Len MacGillivray has been appointed as the new Chair of the CrystEngComm Editorial Board, from January 2011.

Based at the University of Iowa, Len, who has been a member of the Editorial Board since 2008, has research interests in the areas of molecular recognition, self assembly and supramolecular chemistry. In particular, Len’s work involves the use of template controlled synthesis in the solid state, using rigid bifunctional molecules as linear templates, to direct the formation of C-C bonds covalent bonds.

Len will become Chair of the Editorial Board in January, when Neil Champness (The University of Nottingham) ends his term as Chair. Neil has been Chair of the Editorial Board since 2007, and a member of the Editorial Board for 10 years.

We very much look forward to working with Len in his new role.

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CrystEngComm talks to Susan Bourne

03 Sep 2010

How an uninspiring science teacher sparked a successful career in crystal engineering….Susan Bourne talks to CrystEngComm

Susan Bourne is a professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Cape Town, where she has been based since 1994. Her research is focused on crystal engineering of molecules with diverse functional properies such as metal organic frameworks and layered hybrid perovskites. Susan is also a member of the CrystEngComm Advisory Board.

Why did you to become a scientist?

Unusually (I think) my interest in chemistry was sparked by a poor science teacher in high school. Knowing that I needed to pass the school-leaving exams, I read the textbook cover to cover, and was hooked! I always wanted to understand how things worked or what was underneath the surface. Developing and rationalising concepts was easier for me than memorising lists of facts.

What projects are you working on at the moment?

We’re working on coordination networks (including some MOFs) which are able to absorb guests from gas or solution, and also on the supramolecular modification of biologically active compounds.

What do you think will be the next big breakthrough in your field?

Breakthroughs, by their nature, are hard to foresee, but I’ll stick my neck out and say that crystal packing prediction has made enormous advances recently and I’m beginning to believe that the day will come when it will be possible to design crystal structures rather than rationalising them after the fact.

How do you think crystal engineering will develop in the next five years?

I believe we’re on the cusp of very exciting developments and that the next few years will see the actualisation of many of the promises of crystal engineering: the production of materials with measurably improved properties which have been ‘engineered’ in at the design stage. We’ll also see the development of more and more responsive systems, which react to their environment in some way.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your work?

There aren’t many jobs where you get to work with intelligent and motivated people every day. Watching students develop their scientific confidence is hugely rewarding as is seeing them move on to become my colleagues.

What is the secret to a successful research group?

My research group has always shared space and facilities with other groups which I think has fostered a collaborative spirit. Encouraging students to explore their own interests and try out something new and even a bit off-the-wall has sometimes produced exciting results.

What achievement are you most proud of?

Probably our most recent work on metal-organic frameworks which collapse on dehydration and regenerate on exposure to guest vapours. But then I’m always excited by new results, so this will probably change soon.

What advice would you give to a young scientist?

Read widely, attend seminars outside your own area and keep an open mind. And learn to bounce back from setbacks!

What would you do if you weren’t a scientist?

I really had to rack my brains to answer this. I think I would have to be a scientist of some sort, nothing else interests me as much. Geology and botany are both interests I’d like to explore more one day.

What is your favourite place to be?

The natural environment around Cape Town is wonderful and easily accessible. I find running in the mountains exhilarating and inspiring.

Find out more about Susan on her webpage at the University of Cape Town.

Read some of Susan’s exciting research:

Incorporating active pharmaceutical ingredients into a molecular salt using a chiral counterion
Andreas Lemmerer, Susan A. Bourne, Mino R. Caira, Jonathan Cotton, Umraan Hendricks, Laura C. Peinke and Lee Trollope
CrystEngComm, 2010, Advance Article, DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00043D

Structural and melting point characterisation of six chiral ammonium naphthalene carboxylate salts
Andreas Lemmerer, Susan A. Bourne and Manuel A. Fernandes
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 1605-161, DOI: 10.1039/B810068C

Disruption of a robust supramolecular heterosynthon in achiral benzylammonium and (pyridylmethyl)ammonium m-iodobenzoate salts
Andreas Lemmerer, Susan A. Bourne and Manuel A. Fernandes
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 1750-1757, DOI: 10.1039/B811789F

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New CrystEngComm Associate Editor Christer Aakeroy

05 Aug 2010

We are delighted to announce that Professor Christer Aakeröy, from Kansas State University, USA, has been appointed as CrystEngComm Associate Editor for the Americas.

Christer is a Professor of Chemistry at Kansas State University. His research interests focus on crystal engineering, both the fundamentals and its application in the pharmaceutical industry. He has been the Regional Associate Editor for the Americas/member of the CrystEngComm Editorial Board for the last 3 years and we are delighted that he will now also receive papers in his new position of Associate Editor. Submit a manuscript to Christer.

‘CrystEngComm has really established itself as an excellent forum for the publication of first-rate results of relevance to a broad spectrum of the chemistry community,’ Christer Aakeröy, CrystEngComm Associate Editor for the Americas. Find out more about Christer on his Kansas State University webpage.

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CrystEngComm Blog

Archive for the ‘Board News’ Category

Defining the Halogen Bond – IUPAC task group need your input!

Interview: Keiichiro Ogawa talks to CrystEngComm

Hydrogen bond defined

Len MacGillivray appointed as new CrystEngComm Editorial Board Chair

CrystEngComm talks to Susan Bourne

New CrystEngComm Associate Editor Christer Aakeroy

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