Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Li, Yin-Xiang
• Yu, Meng-Na
• Eginligil, Mustafa
• Wang, Sha-Sha
• Liu, Ju-Qing
• Xie, Ling-Hai
• Dong, Xue-Mei
• Huang, Wei

Titel

Self-Assembly and Polymorphic Transformation of Butterfly-Shaped Organic Nanocrystals from a Windmill-like Bulky Small Molecule

Ist Teil von

• Crystal growth & design, 2021-02, Vol.21 (2), p.1113-1121

Ort / Verlag

American Chemical Society

Erscheinungsjahr

2021

Quelle

Alma/SFX Local Collection

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Here, biomimetic organic nanocrystals with a butterfly-like morphology (BM) were first constructed from a windmill-like bulky small molecule, T­(DAF)3. The BMs possess a peculiar “Janus” feature with a butterfly-shaped front side and cross-veined back side. Evolution observations clearly reveal that this unusual 3D architecture is originated from the preferential growth of {011} and {0–11} crystal faces of a core. Additionally, the BMs are pH-sensitive and can be converted reversibly with a cube-shaped morphology (CM). Detailed microscopic observations in combination with systematically single-crystal determinations suggest that the BMs and CMs are polymorphs and the acid/base responsive conformational conversion of T­(DAF)3 is responsible for the polymorphic transformation. Finally, the effect of molecular-level conformation on packing and morphology is demonstrated. The nonplanar 3D configuration, flexible conformational transitions, and variable supramolecular interactions of T­(DAF)3 are regarded as the crucial factors for the realization of the biomimetic morphology and polymorphic transformation of organic microcrystals. The rotational isomerism-morphology relationship of organic small molecules can serve as a model, providing a guideline for complex micro/nanocrystals of organic systems for optoelectronic or bionic applications.