CrystEngComm Blog

In this HOT article, Chinese researchers have demonstrated for the first time that ternary cation-alloyed PbSnS nanocrystals could be synthesized via a facile solution-based routine. The mean diameters of the as-prepared nanocrystals ranged from 6–15 nm. Several interesting variations on the crystal structure and band gap energy were indicated. The results could potentially have a high impact on IV-VI quantum dots based optoelectronic applications in the future.

Read more about these interesting nanocrystals for FREE until the 1st November 2011 at:

Synthesis of ternary Pb_xSn_1−xS nanocrystals with tunable band gap
Hao Wei, Yanjie Su, Shangzhi Chen, Yang Lin, Zhi Yang, Huai Sun and Yafei Zhang
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05999H

In this CrystEngComm Hot article William Ducker from the University of Melbourne studies the mechanism for hydrothermal growth of ZnO, in collaboration with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Ducker comments ‘these findings may have implications for understanding how small organic molecules can be used to control the morphology of zinc oxide crystals grown under hydrothermal conditions’. The study shows that ZnO grows from aqueous zinc ions via Wülfingite, which then slowly dehydrates to form zinc oxide.

Read the full article for FREE until 10th November to find out more…

The mechanism for hydrothermal growth of zinc oxide
Nathan Johann Nicholas, George V. Franks and William A. Ducker
CrystEngComm, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE06039B

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John D. Wallis and colleagues at Nottingham Trent University, the University of Southampton, Brock University and the University of Fribourg look at the (1,5) interactions between aldehyde groups and hydroxyl or methoxy groups in this CrystEngComm Hot article.

The group systematically compare naphthalene and triptycene frameworks, to greater understand O^…C=O molecular interactions.

Read the full article for FREE until 4th November to find out more about these interactions…

The use of the triptycene framework for observing OCO molecular interactions
Alberth Lari, Mateusz B. Pitak, Simon J. Coles, Emma Bresco, Peter Belser, Andreas Beyeler, Melanie Pilkington and John D. Wallis
CrystEngComm, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05955F

In this CrystEngComm Hot article Zhimao Yang and co-workers from Xi’an Jiaotong University make copper oxide nanostructures with copper nanoparticles grown on the {111} facets via  a one-pot method.

The nanostructures they produce demonstrate excellent photocatalytic activity in the degradation of methyl orange.

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Facet-selective growth of Cu–Cu2O heterogeneous architectures
Shaodong Sun, Chuncai Kong, Hongjun You, Xiaoping Song, Bingjun Ding and Zhimao Yang
CrystEngComm, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05743J

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Hot Communication just published in CrystEngComm: Polarity-dependent homo-epitaxy on (0001)-Zn and (0001)-O surfaces of cleaved ZnO microwires was investigated by in situ growth in ESEM and DFT simulations.

Read this article for free until the 6th October!

Click here to access: In situ growth and density-functional-theory study of polarity-dependent homo-epitaxial ZnO microwires
Rui Zhu, Qing Zhao, Jun Xu, Banggui Liu, Jingyun Gao, Jingmin Zhang, Wenguang Zhu, Hongjun Xu, Yanghui Sun, Qiang Fu, Li Chen and Dapeng Yu
CrystEngComm, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05892D

In this HOT article, Chinese researchers synthesized novel polyhedral 26-facet CuS microcages decorated with unique crystalline structures as building blocks via a facile sacrificial Cu₂O templates solution route. Each of the polyhedral 26-facet CuS microcages is constructed of three different structural shells, which are enclosed by three pairs of square mesostructural shells, four pairs of nanotwinned triangular shells, and six pairs of rectangular single crystalline shells. The study should be of great importance for the “bottom-up” assembly of unusual hollow ordering superstructures.

Read more for FREE until 21st September at:

Unique polyhedral 26-facet CuS hollow architectures decorated with nanotwinned, mesostructural and single crystalline shells
Shaodong Sun, Xiaoping Song, Chuncai Kong, Shuhua Liang, Bingjun Ding and Zhimao Yang
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05563A

In this CrystEngComm Hot article Joël Moreau and colleagues create a porous network from a host compound based on spirocyclic triphosphazene.

Their porous network has bigger cavity sizes and is more stable than other similiar structures, while still managing to achieve the desirable tunnel-like cavities found previously.

Read the full article for FREE to find out more about these porous networks…

Synthesis and crystal structure of tris(2,3-triphenylenedioxy)cyclotriphosphazene: a new clathration system
Mathias Reynes, Olivier J. Dautel, David Virieux, David Flot and Joël J. E. Moreau
CrystEngComm, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05529A

The classical crystalline motif categorizations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) have gained
interest as of late as it was discovered that the ‘‘defining’’ crystallographic axis was not always the
‘‘shortest crystallographic axis’’ as previously thought and that systems under pressure would exhibit
a motif’s typical axis length but not its typical interplanar angle (theta).

In this CrystEngComm paper Bohdan Schatschneider and his team use Hirshfeld surfaces to investigate the relative percent of intermolecular close contact interactions existing within the four established crystalline PAH motifs under ambient and high pressures. It was discovered that in fact the fraction of C/C interactions (C/C%) coupled with theta could ultimately define the structural motifs. Read more for free until the 5th September 2011.

A new parameter for classification of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon crystalline motifs: a Hirshfeld surface investigation
Bohdan Schatschneider, Jacob Phelps and Sebastian Jezowski
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05560G

Although pyrite has been made in many morphological forms, such as films, nanocubes and nanowires, microspheres have never been made …until now. Qi-Zhi Yao, Gen-Tao Zhou and their team based in Heifei, China have used a microwave-assisted polyol method to produce uniform and monodisperse pyrite microspherolites.

Monodisperse nano-/microspheres have attracted increasing attention because of their promising applications in optical and photonic crystals and microlenses and can be used as seed particles for the core-shell and hollow spheres. Read more in this recent CrystEngComm Hot Article.

Microwave-assisted controlled synthesis of monodisperse pyrite microspherolites
Mao-Lin Li, Qi-Zhi Yao, Gen-Tao Zhou, Xiao-Fei Qu, Cheng-Fa Mu and Sheng-Quan Fu
CrystEngComm, 2011, Advance Article DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05478C

Guoqi Zhang, Guoqiang Yang and coworkers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing make a series of bis(pyrrolyl)carbohydrazide derivatives in this CrystEngComm Hot article.

The compounds aggregate to form double helices in the solution state, an interesting discovery, as artificial double helices are very rare.

Read the full article for FREE until 30th August to find out more…

Self-complementary hydrogen-bonded duplexes and helices based on bis(pyrrolyl)carbohydrazide derivatives
Dehui Hu, Zhipei Yang, Guoqi Zhang, Min Liu, Junfeng Xiang, Tongling Liang, Jinshi Ma and Guoqiang Yang
CrystEngComm, 2011, DOI: 10.1039/C1CE05542A