CrystEngComm Blog

Photodimerization control in the solid state

15 Oct 2012

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

In an extension of previous work, this HOT Article, by Kraig Wheeler and co-workers describes their attempts to control the regio- and stereochemical outcomes of [2+2] photochemical dimerization in the solid state.

In their 2011, CrystEngComm article, the team reported on the development of a sulfonamidecinnamic acid framework which could be likened to the shape of a fish-hook. Upon crystallisation, the structures form supramolecular dimers where the neighbouring C=C double bonds are oriented mutally co-planar. It is this feature that allows UV initiated dimerisation into the corresponding cyclobutane product.

In their latest CrystEngComm, they extend this study by looking at a greater range of frameworks with different R substituents. To see what impact this has on the supramolecular photodimerisation, download the article now for FREE:

Solid-state photodimerization reactions of racemic and homochiral phenylalanine sulfonamidecinnamic acids
Zhiqing Yan, Andrew J. Bolokowicz, Teage K. Collett, Sarah A. Reeb, Joshua D. Wiseman and Kraig A. Wheeler
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE26307F

Also of interest:
Enantiocontrolled solid-state photodimerizations via a chiral sulfonamidecinnamic acid
Kraig A. Wheeler, Joshua D. Wiseman and Rebecca C. Grove
CrystEngComm, 2011, 13, 3134–3137
DOI: 10.1039/C0CE00516A

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Rahul Banerjee, new Associate Editor for CrystEngComm

11 Oct 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

We are delighted to announce that Dr Rahul Banerjee is now Associate Editor for CrystEngComm. Dr Banerjee joined the CrystEngComm Editorial Board earlier this year but as of 1^st October, he will now be handling submissions for the journal.

Dr Banerjee is based at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India. His research interests focus on the synthesis and structural studies of metal-organic frameworks as well as their applications in storage, separation and adsorption.

Dr Banerjee comments “I’m very pleased to accept this position. It is indeed a job through which I believe I can serve the crystal engineering community even more”.

Some of Dr Banerjee’s recent CrystEngComm articles include:

Hydrogen bond directed honeycomb-like porous network structure of tris (bipyridyl-glycoluril)cobalt(III) chloride, CrystEngComm, 2011, 5289-5291.

Synthesis and structural comparisons of five new fluorinated metal organic frameworks (F-MOFs), CrystEngComm, 2010, 1600-1609 .

Submit to Dr Rahul Banerjee today through our submission website.

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SPP 1415 Kristalline Nichtgleichgewichtsphasen – Theorie und Experiment (Nonequilibrium crystalline phases – theory and experiment)

10 Oct 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

19th – 20th September 2012, Darmstadt, Germany

Professor Josef Breu awarding Miss Iryna Andrusenko the CrystEngComm poster prize

Congratulations to Miss Iryna Andrusenko, University of Mainz, the winner of the CrystEngComm Poster Prize at the recent ‘Kristalline Nichtgleichgewichtsphasen – Theorie und Experiment’.

Iryna’s poster, titled ‘Importance of Understanding the Vaterite Structure’ is based on her research into a polymorph of calcium carbonate, Vaterite.

Well done Iryna, I hope you enjoy your copy of Science of Ice Cream!

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September Crystal Clear: Crystal Flowers

28 Sep 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

High-magnification SEM image of flower-like ZnO prepared on ITO glass

This month’s crystal clear is a striking image of what looks like a crystal flower!

In fact this is a high-magnification SEM image of a ZnO microstructure prepared on indium-doped tin oxide (ITO) glass. Ping Yang and co-workers from the University of Jinan published their article in Issue 18 of CrystEngComm.

The team were investigating the growth mechanism of ZnO rods using an environmentally friendly synthesis at 70^oC, by decreasing the concentration of NaOH they found they could transform the rods into these remarkable flower-like structures!

You can read the full details of the groups research, including how to create these impressive crystals, by downloading there article below, which is free to access for 4 weeks!

Growth of flower-like ZnO via surfactant-free hydrothermal synthesis on ITO substrate at low temperature

Ruixia Shi, Ping Yang, Jianrong Wang, Aiyu Zhang, Yuanna Zhu, Yongqiang Cao and Qian Ma

CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 5996-6003

DOI: 10.1039/C2CE25606A

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From disorder to order: evidence of stable ion clusters

18 Sep 2012

By Helen Lunn, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

Evidence for an amorphous to crystalline transition

In this HOT Article, Franca Jones suggests the existence of highly disordered clusters that form prior to crystallization of barite and gypsum, based on Fourier-Transform infra-red (FTIR) spectra of saturated solutions as they crystallize. Jones reports the evolution of various mineral phases prior to the appearance of the crystalline mature product and in the case of barite, shows that the FTIR evidence is strongly supported by electron diffraction. The role of water in the process is also investigated…

Read more for FREE at:

Infrared investigation of barite and gypsum crystallization: Evidence for an amorphous to crystalline transition
Franca Jones
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE25918D

Also of interest may be:

Barium sulfate crystallization dependence on upper rim calix[4]arene functional groups
Andrew Baynton, Mark I. Ogden, Colin L. Raston and Franca Jones
CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 1057-1062
DOI: 10.1039/C1CE06083J

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Sensing humidity with MOFs

17 Sep 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

Researchers from China have designed coordination frameworks which exhibit varing levels of luminescence when exposed to air of different humidities.

The porous terbium-based metal organic framework reversibly absorbs/desorbs water molecules into its structure. When additonal water molecules are coordinated to the framework, the compound emits a bright green colour (easily detectable by the naked eye) – the result of a reduced O-H vibrational quenching in the complex.

Read more by downloading the CrystEngComm article now:

Luminescent humidity sensors based on porous Ln³⁺-MOFs
Yang Yu, Jiang-Ping Ma and Yu-Bin Dong

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The diverse crystal forms of rifaximin

07 Sep 2012

By Jennifer Newton, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

Drugs, as with many molecular compounds, often exist in different crystal forms, and in these different forms they will exhibit different chemical and physical properties. Different solubilities and dissolution rates result in different absorption rates so the ability to control what form crystals take on, is of key importance throughout many stages of the pharmaceutical industry.

This HOT paper from Braga, Grepioni et al. looks at the crystal structures of four crystal forms of the synthetic antibiotic rifaximin. The study increases our understanding of how water molecules interact with rifaximin and/or amongst themselves in the crystal packing as well as providing information on the phase relationship of the hydration-dehydration process.

Supramolecular engineering via halogen bonding

06 Sep 2012

By Helen Lunn, Publishing Editor.

This article is HOT as recommended by the referees. And we’ve made it free to access for 4 weeks.

Applications of halogen bonding

In this HOT Highlight, Franck Meyer and Philippe Dubois discuss the emergence of halogen bonding over the last decade for crystal engineering of supramolecular complexes. Whilst hydrogen bonding has received a great deal of interest in this respect, very little work has focused on halogen bonding until now. The first applications to highly functional materials are presented. Other recent applications have also included solution phase recognition (catalysis, anion sensing and resolution) and macromolecular organizations (porous, polymeric and hybrid systems). Thus, the potential cooperation between weak
non-covalent bonds opens the door for new applications in materials science and synthetic chemistry.

CrystEngComm Blog

Photodimerization control in the solid state

Rahul Banerjee, new Associate Editor for CrystEngComm

SPP 1415 Kristalline Nichtgleichgewichtsphasen – Theorie und Experiment (Nonequilibrium crystalline phases – theory and experiment)

Top ten most accessed articles in August

September Crystal Clear: Crystal Flowers

From disorder to order: evidence of stable ion clusters

Sensing humidity with MOFs

Top ten most accessed articles in July

The diverse crystal forms of rifaximin

Supramolecular engineering via halogen bonding

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