CrystEngComm Blog

This weeks CrystEngSelects

08 Mar 2012

Here is this week’s selection of advanced articles and accepted manuscripts of interest to crystal engineers from across the RSC journals

Articles are chosen from:
ChemComm,
Chemical Science,
CrystEngComm,
Dalton Transactions,
Journal of Materials Chemistry,
Nanoscale,
New Journal of Chemistry,
RSC Advances.

A triple helix of double helicates: three hierarchical levels of self-assembly in a single structure
Andrew Stephenson and Michael D. Ward
Chem. Commun., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC30197K, Communication

An asymmetric oligomer based on thienoacene for solution processed crystal organic thin-film transistors
Hongkun Tian, Yang Han, Cheng Bao, Donghang Yan, Yanhou Geng and Fosong Wang
Chem. Commun., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC30407D, Communication

Molecular chirality and chiral capsule-type dimer formation of cyclic triamides via hydrogen-bonding interactions
Noriko Fujimoto, Mio Matsumura, Isao Azumaya, Shizuka Nishiyama, Hyuma Masu, Hiroyuki Kagechika and Aya Tanatani
Chem. Commun., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CC18177K, Communication

Highly Branched Pt-Ni Nanocrystals Enclosed by Stepped Surface
Zhiqiang Niu, Dingsheng Wang, Rong Yu, Qing Peng and Yadong Li
Chem. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2SC00004K, Edge Article

Kinetics and mechanism of metal–organic framework thin film growth: systematic investigation of HKUST-1 deposition on QCM electrodes
Vitalie Stavila, Joanne Volponi, Aaron M. Katzenmeyer, Matthew C. Dixon and Mark D. Allendorf
Chem. Sci., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2SC20065A, Edge Article

Morphology, wettability, and photomicropatterning of superhydrophobic surface with high adhesive force by crystal growth of a photochromic diarylethene
Daichi Kitagawa and Seiya Kobatake
Chem. Sci., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2SC20051A, Edge Article

Recent advances in porphyrinic metal–organic frameworks: materials design, synthetic strategies, and emerging applications
Brandon J. Burnett, Paul M. Barron and Wonyoung Choe
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06692K

Facile solvothermal synthesis and growth mechanism of flower-like PbTe dendrites assisted by cyclodextrin
Rencheng Jin, Gang Chen, Jian Pei, Chunshuang Yan, Xian Zou, Mingda Deng and Shuai Sun
CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 2327-2332
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06417K

Coordination polymers, metal–organic frameworks and the need for terminology guidelines
Stuart R. Batten, Neil R. Champness, Xiao-Ming Chen, Javier Garcia-Martinez, Susumu Kitagawa, Lars Öhrström, Michael O’Keeffe, Myunghyun Paik Suh and Jan Reedijk
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06488J

Progress in lead-based ferroelectric and antiferroelectric single crystals: composition modification, crystal growth and properties
Nengneng Luo, Yuanyuan Li, Zhiguo Xia and Qiang Li
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06430H, Highlight

Lanthanide–tungstobismuthate clusters based on [BiW₉O₃₃]₉− building units: synthesis, crystal structures, luminescent and magnetic properties
Keyu Cui, Fengyan Li, Lin Xu, Bingbing Xu, Ning Jiang, Yuchao Wang and Jianping Zhang
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT11478J, Paper

Chemo-switched chromatic, magnetic and structural changes with retention of molecular crystallinity, Ni(12aneS₄)(BF₄)₂Andrew J. Churchard, Mariana Derzsi, Zvonko Jagličić, Arndt Remhof and Wojciech Grochala
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT12468H, Paper

Highly crystalline strontium ferrites SrFeO_3−δ: an easy and effective wet-chemistry synthesis
S. Diodati, L. Nodari, M. M. Natile, U. Russo, E. Tondello, L. Lutterotti and S. Gross
Dalton Trans., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2DT11916A, Paper

Growth of Zeolitic Imidazolate Framework-8 Crystals from the Solid-liquid Interface
Minqi Zhu, Jacek B Jasinski and MOISES A Carreon
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM30718A, Communication

Self-assembly of ZnO nanocrystals into nanoporous pyramids: high selective adsorption and photocatalytic activity Yunxin Liu, Jianxin Shi, Qing Peng and Yadong Li
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM16729H, Communication

Organotemplate-free and one-pot fabrication of nano-rod assembled plate-like micro-sized mordenite crystals
Limin Ren, Qiang Guo, Haiyan Zhang, Longfeng Zhu, Chengguang Yang, Liang Wang, Xiangju Meng, Zhaochi Feng, Can Li and Feng-Shou Xiao
J. Mater. Chem., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2JM30478C, Communication

Infrared colloidal lead chalcogenide nanocrystals: Synthesis, properties, and photovoltaic applications
Huiying Fu and Sai-Wing Tsang
Nanoscale, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2NR11836J, Review

Electrical and Thermal Properties of a Carbon Nanotube/Polycrystalline BiFeO₃/Pt Photovoltaic Heterojunction with CdSe Quantum Dots Sensitization
Yongyuan Zang, Dan Xie, Yu Chen, Tian-Ling Ren, Hongwei Zhu and David Plant
Nanoscale, 2012, Accepted Manuscript
DOI: 10.1039/C2NR30084B, Paper

Photo-to-current response of Bi₂Fe₄O₉ nanocrystals synthesized through a chemical co-precipitation process
Yongping Li, Yongcheng Zhang, Wanneng Ye, Jianqiang Yu, Chaojing Lu and Linhua Xia
New J. Chem., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2NJ40039A, Letter

Photonic crystal pH and metal cation sensors based on poly(vinyl alcohol) hydrogel
Hongliang Jiang, Yihua Zhu, Cheng Chen, Jianhua Shen, Hua Bao, Liming Peng, Xiaoling Yang and Chunzhong Li
New J. Chem., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2NJ20989F, Paper

Homochiral 1D-helical coordination polymers from achiral cucurbit[5]uril: hydroquinone-induced spontaneous resolution
Kai Chen, Ying-Feng Hu, Xin Xiao, Sai-Feng Xue, Zhu Tao, Yun-Qian Zhang, Qian-Jiang Zhu and Jing-Xin Liu
RSC Adv., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2RA01132H, Communication

H₂Ti₆O₁₃, a new protonated titanate prepared by Li+/H+ ion exchange: synthesis, crystal structure and electrochemical Li insertion properties
J. C. Pérez-Flores, C. Baehtz, M. Hoelzel, A. Kuhn and F. García-Alvarado
RSC Adv., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2RA01134D, Paper

Synthesis of highly crystalline In₂Ge₂O₇(En) hybrid sub-nanowires with ultraviolet photoluminescence emissions and their selective photocatalytic reduction of CO₂ into renewable fuel
Qi Liu, Yong Zhou, Yue Ma and Zhigang Zou
RSC Adv., 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2RA20186K, Communication

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Hot Highlight: Porphyrinic metal organic frameworks

07 Mar 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Three types of possible pillaring present in porphyrin paddlewheel frameworks using a 4,4'-bipyridine ligand

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are a hot topic of research in crystal engineering given the range of potential applications, including catalysis, gas storage and sensing. The construction of the crystalline materials is very important to determine the properties of the material and this is controlled by careful selection of linkers (organic molecules) and joints (metal ions or clusters).

Porphyrins provide a versatile choice of linker as they can accommodate a range of transition metals and main group elements, this allows metals to be introduced into the frameworks without the need for them to also act as joints, making the metal ions more accessible and increasing interaction with guest molecules.

Schematic illustration of a metal–organic framework, assembled from metal nodes and metalloligands

Porphyrin based MOFs have been reported by Robson, Goldberg, Suslick, Li, Choe, Hupp, Ma and others, this Hot Highlight by Brandon Burnett, Paul Barron and Wonyoung Choe reviews the recent advances in porphyrinic MOFs, focussing on materials design, synthetic strategies and emerging applications.

You can download the article below, which is free to access for 4 weeks

Also of interest

Highly tunable metal–organic frameworks with open metal centers
Eun-Young Choi, Curtis A. Wray, Chunhua Hu and Wonyoung Choe
CrystEngComm, 2009, 11, 553-555
DOI: 10.1039/B819707P

A mixed-linker porphyrin framework with CdI2-type topology
Eun-Young Choi, Paul M. Barron, Richard W. Novotney, Chunhua Hu, Young-UK Kwon and Wonyoung Choe
CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 824-826
DOI: 10.1039/B720035H

Four new 2D porous polymeric frames from the self-assembly of silver triflate and silver tosylate with free-base and Zn-metallated 5,10,15,20-tetra(4-pyridyl)Porphyrin
Lucia Carlucci, Gianfranco Ciani, Davide M. Proserpio and Francesca Porta
CrystEngComm, 2005, 7, 78-86
DOI: 10.1039/B417709F

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2012 Gordon Research Conference on Crystal Engineering

07 Mar 2012

By Claire Murray, Web Writer.

The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Crystal Engineering will be held in the Waterville Valley Resort, New Hampshire, USA from 10–15^th June 2012.

The conference is chaired by Robin D. Rogers alongside CrystEngComm Associate Editor, Christer Aakeröy and Mike Zaworotko who are vice chairing). Sessions will include Nucleation, Crystal Growth, and Solid State Reactivity; Polymorphism and Crystal Structure Prediction; and Catalysis in Porous Materials. Susan Bourne (University of Cape Town), Lee Cronin (University of Glasgow), Pierangelo Metrangolo (Politecnico di Milano) and Gautam Desiraju (Indian Institute of Science) have been invited to speak. Read my recent interview with Professor Desiraju here…

There will be a Crystal Engineering Gordon Research Seminar before the conference on 9–10^th June, focusing on the design, synthesis, and applications of metal–organic materials and coordination polymers. These seminars are a forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new ideas. The deadline for registration for this seminar is 12^th May 2012.

The application deadline for the conference is 13^th May 2012. CrystEngComm Deputy Editor, Fiona McKenzie, is planning to attend and would love to meet you there if you are too – please let her know.

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March Crystal Clear: Crystal Snowflakes

06 Mar 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

This month’s Crystal Clear shows crystals which look remarkably like snowflakes!

FESEM image of dendritic PbTe nano-crystals

In fact this is an image of three-dimensional PbTe dendrites, taken using field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM). The paper, published in Issue 6 of CrystEngComm, details the fabrication of these crystals in the presence of β-cyclodextrin.

Gang Chen et al. of the Harbin Institute of Technology have developed a facile synthesis to control the morphology of the nano-crystals. Lead telluride is a typical IV–VI semiconductor and controlling the size and shape of the material has initiated substantial interest. Nano-cubes, nano-octahedrons, nano-wires, nano-rods and hopper crystals have been synthesised as well as flower-like and dendritic structures.

These dendritic crystals have been successfully synthesized via a facile, rapid solvothermal process in the presence of β-cyclodextrin. The authors have characterised the products and propose a mechanism of formation for the crystals and the influencing parameters.

To read more about their developments you can download the article now, which is free to access for 4 weeks.

Facile solvothermal synthesis and growth mechanism of flower-like PbTe dendrites assisted by cyclodextrin
Rencheng Jin, Gang Chen, Jian Pei, Chunshuang Yan, Xian Zou, Mingda Deng and Shuai Sun
CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 2327-2332
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06417K

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European Crystallographic Meeting Bergen 2012

27 Feb 2012

By Claire Murray, Web Writer.

ECM Bergen Logo The 27^th meeting of the European Crystallographic Association (ECM27) will take place in Bergen, Norway from 6–11^th August 2012.

The program committee have organised a rich scientific program of microsymposia and keynote lectures, with invited talks by CrystEngComm Editorial Board member Mark Spackman (University of Western Australia), Neil Champness (University of Nottingham, UK), Paola Gilli (University of Ferrara, Italy), and 2011 Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry, Dan Shechtman (Technion, Israel Institute of Technology) – read my recent interview with Dan here.

Prizes to be awarded at ECM27 include the European Crystallographic Association (ECA) Max Perutz Prize and the Erwin Felix Lewy Bertaut Prize of the European Crystallographic and Neutron Scattering Association (ECA-ENSA). The nomination deadlines for these awards are the 28^th February and 31^st March 2012, respectively.

There are two satellite meetings preceeding the main meeting on ‘Methods of High-Pressure Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction’ and the ‘Workshop on the Diffraction Data Deposition’.

Registration for this meeting is open now…

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Friendly solar cell synthesis

24 Feb 2012

By Fiona McKenzie, Executive Editor.

The race is on to develop the most efficient, low-cost solar cells to meet the green energy demand of the future. Unfortunately, high power conversion efficiencies often come at high economic cost and so there is still a lot of room for improvement for existing materials and technologies.

Scientists from Donghua University, China, have now touched upon another desirable feature of solar cell materials – environmentally friendly synthesis. Junqing Hu and his team have sought to develop solar cells based on Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) nanocrystal films.

Previous reports using these nanocrystal inks or the selenised CZTSSe analogues have shown promise but their hydrophobic nature (due to the oleylamine capping agent) means they can only be dispersed in organic solvents. Other drawbacks to their synthesis include using cadmium in the buffer layer (environmental implications); glass substrates (inflexibility); and hydrazine as a precursor to the inks (toxic and difficult to handle).

In their recent CrystEngComm Communication, Hu and colleagues describe the solvothermal synthesis of hydrophilic CZTS nanocrystal inks. By developing a film-printing technique they were able to fabricate a flexible and environmentally-friendly solar cell. Although the conversion efficiency is somewhat low (1.94 %) compared to other reported values for CZTSSe materials, the authors expect that it can be improved by optimising the film-printing technique, film thickness and annealing process, and selenising the film.

This HOT article is free to access until 19^th March so download it now…

Hydrophilic Cu₂ZnSnS₄ nanocrystals for printing flexible, low-cost and environmentally friendly solar cells
Qiwei Tian, Xiaofeng Xu, Linbo Han, Minghua Tang, Rujia Zou, Zhigang Chen, Muhuo Yu, Jianmao Yang and Junqing Hu

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2012 Meeting for the Control and Prediction of the Organic Solid State

23 Feb 2012

By Claire Murray, Web Writer.

CPOSS Logo The 2012 meeting for the Control and Prediction of the Organic Solid State Project will take place on Tuesday 3^rd April 2012 at University College London from 9am – 4pm.

The meeting theme is “Crystal or not –where do we go from here?”, and features a variety of speakers including Alastair Florence, ChemComm Editorial Board member Jon Steed, and Sally Price (who will soon be featured in a CrystEngComm interview – watch this space!).

Register now. The meeting is free to attend.

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Upcoming Symposium: Trends in Inorganic Chemistry

15 Feb 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Metal-Organic Frameworks, Porous Coordination Polymers and Zeolites

This symposium, being held in the Magnéli Hall at Stockholm University May 23rd, will cover the ever expanding fields of Metal-Organic Frameworks, Porous Coordination Polymers and Zeolites.

The day will include lectures from the following key speakers:

Michael O’Keeffe, Arizona State University
Neil Champness, University of Nottingham
Susumu Kitagawa, Kyoto University
Unni Olsbye, University of Oslo,
Stuart Batten, Monash University
Tina Düren, University of Edinburgh
Javier García-Martínez, University of Alicante
Xiao-Ming Chen, Sun Yat-Sen University
Myunghyun Paik Suh, Seoul National University

For more details about the event, including how to register, you can access the website here.

Also of interest, the recent Hot Article published by the group ‘Coordination polymers, metal–organic frameworks and the need for terminology guidelines’.

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Building a nation of scientists

14 Feb 2012

By Matthew Cude, Development Editor.

Goverdhan Mehta talks to Sheena Elliott and Elinor Richards about the progress of science in India and the challenges scientists face

Goverdhan Mehta is a researcher, specialising in organic synthesis. He has helped to build institutions in India – the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, the University of Hyderabad, and the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. He was director of the Indian Institute of Science (1998-2005) and vice chancellor of the University of Hyderabad (1994-1998).

His interview with Chemistry World can be found here

Articles of interest include:

Towards a temperature-guided molecular switch: an unusual reversible low-temperature polymorphic phase transition in a conformationally locked environment
Goverdhan Mehta and Saikat Sen, Chem. Commun., 2009, 5981
DOI: 10.1039/b905651c

Understanding the self-assembling process in crystalline cyclooctitols: an insight into the conformational flexibility of medium-sized rings
Goverdhan Mehta, Saikat Sen and Kotapalli Pallavi, CrystEngComm, 2008, 10, 534
DOI: 10.1039/b712877k
Additive induced polymorphous behavior of a conformationally locked hexol
Goverdhan Mehta, Saikat Sen and Kailasam Venkatesan, CrystEngComm, 2007, 9, 144
DOI: 10.1039/b613949c

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CrystEngComm Blog

This weeks CrystEngSelects

Hot Highlight: Porphyrinic metal organic frameworks

2012 Gordon Research Conference on Crystal Engineering

March Crystal Clear: Crystal Snowflakes

Top ten most accessed articles in January

European Crystallographic Meeting Bergen 2012

Friendly solar cell synthesis

2012 Meeting for the Control and Prediction of the Organic Solid State

Upcoming Symposium: Trends in Inorganic Chemistry

Building a nation of scientists

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