CrystEngComm Blog

The crystal structures and packing of organic compounds in the solid state are determined by the types of bonds between the molecules, the structure will depend upon the number, strength and orientation of inter-molecular interactions and bonds. Piyush Panini and Deepak Chopra of IISER Bhopal looked to investigate this further by synthesising, characterising and crystallising a series of 10 isomeric mono and di-trifluoromethylated benzanilides.

While the traditional C–H  –  –  –  O/N type hydrogen bonds are well studied it is more difficult to evaluate some of the weaker interactions, such as those involving halogens. In this Hot Article the authors look to link the cooperative effects of some of the weaker interactions to crystal structures and packing motifs, making some interesting discoveries.

All hot articles are free to access in CrystEngComm for 4 weeks, so you can download this article for free until next month by clicking the link below.

Role of intermolecular interactions involving organic fluorine in trifluoromethylated benzanilides
Piyush Panini and Deepak Chopra
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06254B

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In this HOT Article, the achiral mesoxalato ligand (H₂mesox^2-) is identified as a new enantiopurity enforcer in extended structures by yielding the homochiral metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) 2D-[Ln₂(µ-H₂mesox)₃(H₂O)₆]. The chirality of the compounds can be observed in the features of the crystal structure and also in the dominating intensity of the hypersensitive transition within trivalent europium, which reacts strongly to the absence of a local inversion centre and proves the chiral environment of the rare-earth ions within the complexes.

Read more for FREE about MOFs at:

Homochiral lanthanoid(III) mesoxalate metal–organic frameworks: synthesis, crystal growth, chirality, magnetic and luminescent properties
Beatriz Gil-Hernández, Jana K. Maclaren, Henning A. Höppe, Jorge Pasán, Joaquín Sanchiz and Christoph Janiak
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06496K

PbSe nanorods have been successfully made by solution–liquid–solid (SLS) growth of PbSe nanocrystals. This growth was followed by oriented attachment of adjacent PbSe nanoparticles. The team from South Korea who carried out this synthesis used Bi catalysts dispersed in the precursor solution to make these nanocrystals thereby reducing the time and temperature taken to produce them.

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Enhanced formation of PbSe nanorods via combined solution–liquid–solid growth and oriented attachment
Min-Seok Kim and Yun-Mo Sung
CrystEngComm, 2012, DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06353K

Cerium is an interesting element for luminescence, however only Ce³⁺ ions give rise to fast luminescence because the charge transfer transition in Ce⁴⁺ is spin-forbidden. Ce-doped lutetium scandium orthoborate (Lu_0.8Sc_0.2BO₃:Ce) has potential application in gamma-ray detection and in this Hot Article by Yuntao Wu and Guohao Ren et al. (Shanghai Institute of Ceramics, Chinese Academy of Sciences) the oxidation state of the Ce ions is investigated.

The study on single crystals of Lu_0.8Sc_0.2BO₃:Ce utilizes XANES based on new generation synchrotron radiation. The research team were able to discover the influence cerium doping has on the luminescence mechanism and the type of point defect in Lu_0.8Sc_0.2BO₃:Ce crystals.

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Investigation on the influence of cerium doping form on the luminescence properties of Lu_0.8Sc_0.2BO₃ scintillation crystals
Yuntao Wu, Guohao Ren, Dongzhou Ding, Fan Yang and Shangke Pan
CrystEngComm, 2012, Advance Article
DOI: 10.1039/C2CE06332H, Paper