Crystal-to-Crystal Photoinduced Reaction of Dinitroanthracene to Anthraquinone

The photochemical reaction of 9,10-dinitroanthracene (DNO₂A) to anthraquinone (AQ) + 2NO has been studied by means of lattice phonon Raman spectroscopy in the spectral region 10–150 cm^–1. In fact, crystal-to-crystal transformations are best revealed by following changes in the lattice modes, as even small modifications in the crystal structure lead to dramatic changes in symmetry and selection rules of vibrational modes. While analysis of the lattice modes allowed for the study of the physical changes, the chemical transformation was monitored by measuring the intramolecular Raman-active modes of both reactant and product. On the basis of the experimental data it has been possible, at a microscopic level, to infer crucial information on the reaction mechanism by simultaneously detecting molecular (vibrational modes) and crystal structure (lattice phonons) modifications during the reaction. At a macroscopic level we have detected an intriguing relationship between incident photons and mechanical strain, which manifests itself as a striking bending and unfolding of the specimens under irradiation. To clarify the mechanisms underlying the relationship between incoming light and molecular environment, we have extended the study to high pressure up to 2 GPa. It has been found that above 1 GPa the photoreaction becomes inhibited. The solid-state transformation has also been theoretically modeled, thus identifying the reaction pathway along which the DNO₂A crystal lattice deforms to finally become the crystal lattice of the AQ product

Crystal-to-Crystal Photoinduced Reaction of Dinitroanthracene to Anthraquinone

The photochemical reaction of 9,10-dinitroanthracene (DNO₂A) to anthraquinone (AQ) + 2NO has been studied by means of lattice phonon Raman spectroscopy in the spectral region 10–150 cm^–1. In fact, crystal-to-crystal transformations are best revealed by following changes in the lattice modes, as even small modifications in the crystal structure lead to dramatic changes in symmetry and selection rules of vibrational modes. While analysis of the lattice modes allowed for the study of the physical changes, the chemical transformation was monitored by measuring the intramolecular Raman-active modes of both reactant and product. On the basis of the experimental data it has been possible, at a microscopic level, to infer crucial information on the reaction mechanism by simultaneously detecting molecular (vibrational modes) and crystal structure (lattice phonons) modifications during the reaction. At a macroscopic level we have detected an intriguing relationship between incident photons and mechanical strain, which manifests itself as a striking bending and unfolding of the specimens under irradiation. To clarify the mechanisms underlying the relationship between incoming light and molecular environment, we have extended the study to high pressure up to 2 GPa. It has been found that above 1 GPa the photoreaction becomes inhibited. The solid-state transformation has also been theoretically modeled, thus identifying the reaction pathway along which the DNO₂A crystal lattice deforms to finally become the crystal lattice of the AQ product

Interlayer Sliding Phonon Drives Phase Transition in the Ph‑BTBT-10 Organic Semiconductor

In the field of organic electronics, the semiconductor 7-decyl-2-phenyl[1]benzothieno[3,2-b][1]benzothiophene (Ph-BTBT-10) has become a benchmark due to its high charge mobility and chemical stability in thin film devices. Its phase diagram is characterized by a crystal phase with a bilayer structure that at high temperature transforms into a Smectic E liquid crystal with monolayer structure. As the charge transport properties appear to depend on the phase present in the thin film, the transition has been the subject of structural and computational studies. Here such a process has been investigated by polarized low frequency Raman spectroscopy, selectively probing the intermolecular dynamics of the two phases. The spectroscopic observations demonstrate the key role played by a displacive component of the transition, with the interpenetration of the crystal bilayers driven by lattice phonon mode softening followed by the intralayer rearrangement of the molecule rigid cores into the herringbone motif of the liquid crystal. The mechanism can be related to the effectiveness of thermal annealing to restore the crystal phase in films

Crystal Structure of the 9‑Anthracene–Carboxylic Acid Photochemical Dimer and Its Solvates by X‑ray Diffraction and Raman Microscopy

The photodimerization of anthracene derivatives constitutes a model system for intermolecular [4 + 4] cycloadditions. In this paper we deal with the elusive 9-anthracene–carboxylic case and study the crystal state of the head-to-tail dimer, obtained by the reaction of the monomer in various solvents both in its unary and solvated forms, by X-ray diffraction and confocal Raman microscopy in the lattice phonon region. A number of solvates have been identified, and their structures have been solved and here presented. The 9-anthracene–carboxylic acid dimer appears to be an exemplary case of a molecular crystal easily prone to host solvent molecules in the interstices of the framework generated by homomolecular hydrogen bonds. Alternatively, the hydrogen bonds between solvent molecules and the carboxylic group may establish supramolecular structures of closely packed architectures. Raman microscopy has also allowed us to investigate the short-lived dimer, which is produced in the crystal-to-crystal photoreaction triggered by the irradiation of the monomer single crystal

Toward a Reliable Description of the Lattice Vibrations in Organic Molecular Crystals: The Impact of van der Waals Interactions

This work assesses the reliability of different van der Waals (vdW) methods to describe lattice vibrations of molecular crystals in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). To accomplish this task, calculated and experimental lattice phonon Raman spectra of a pool of organic molecular crystals are compared. We show that the many-body dispersion (MBD@rsSCS) van der Waals method of Ambrosetti et al. and the pairwise method of Grimme et al. (D3-BJ) outperform the other tested approaches (i.e., the D2 method of Grimme, the TS method of Tkatchenko and Scheffler, and the nonlocal functional vdW-DF-optPBE of Klimeš et al.). For the worse-performing approaches the results could not even be fixed by the introduction of scaling parameters, as commonly used for high-energy intramolecular vibrations. Interestingly, when using the experimentally determined unit cell parameters, DFT calculations using the PBE functional without corrections for long-range vdW interactions provide spectra of similar accuracy as the MBD@rsSCS and D3-BJ simulations

Toward a Reliable Description of the Lattice Vibrations in Organic Molecular Crystals: The Impact of van der Waals Interactions

This work assesses the reliability of different van der Waals (vdW) methods to describe lattice vibrations of molecular crystals in the framework of density functional theory (DFT). To accomplish this task, calculated and experimental lattice phonon Raman spectra of a pool of organic molecular crystals are compared. We show that the many-body dispersion (MBD@rsSCS) van der Waals method of Ambrosetti et al. and the pairwise method of Grimme et al. (D3-BJ) outperform the other tested approaches (i.e., the D2 method of Grimme, the TS method of Tkatchenko and Scheffler, and the nonlocal functional vdW-DF-optPBE of Klimeš et al.). For the worse-performing approaches the results could not even be fixed by the introduction of scaling parameters, as commonly used for high-energy intramolecular vibrations. Interestingly, when using the experimentally determined unit cell parameters, DFT calculations using the PBE functional without corrections for long-range vdW interactions provide spectra of similar accuracy as the MBD@rsSCS and D3-BJ simulations

Bulk and Surface-Stabilized Structures of Paracetamol Revisited by Raman Confocal Microscopy

We revisit the polymorphism of paracetamol by means of a micro-Raman technique, which has proved to be a powerful tool for structure recognition. Distinct lattice phonon spectra clearly identified the pure phases. Confocality enabled us to detect phase mixing between form II and either I or III on a micrometric scale in the same crystallite. Following the most recent findings on surface-mediated structures, we also investigated spin-coated films grown on glass, gold, and polystyrene substrates, confirming the selectivity of these surfaces for the metastable form III, which shows an unprecedented stability over a time span of several months. A mechanism of its transformation to phase II, via a partially ordered intermediate state, is suggested by polarized Raman measurements

Two New Polymorphs of the Organic Semiconductor 9,10-Diphenylanthracene: Raman and X‑ray Analysis

Raman microscopy in the lattice phonon region coupled with X-ray diffraction have been used to study the polymorphism in crystals and microcrystals of the organic semiconductor 9,10-diphenylanthracene (DPA) obtained by various methods. While solution grown specimens all display the well-known monoclinic structure widely reported in the literature, by varying the growth conditions two more polymorphs have been obtained, either from the melt or by sublimation. By injecting water as a nonsolvent in a DPA solution, one of the two new polymorphs was predominantly obtained in the shape of microribbons. Lattice energy calculations allow us to assess the relative thermodynamic stability of the polymorphs and verify that the energies of the different phases are very sensitive to the details of the molecular geometry adopted in the solid state. The mobility channels of DPA polymorphs are shortly investigated

An Alternative Strategy to Polymorph Recognition at Work: The Emblematic Case of Coronene

We show that the development of highly accurate density functional theory calculations coupled to low-frequency Raman spectroscopy constitutes a valid method for polymorph characterization alternative/complementary to X-ray. The method is applied here to the temperature-induced, first-order phase transition of coronene, known for a long time, but has remained structurally uncharacterized due to crystal breaking during the process. The astonishing fidelity of the Raman calculated spectra to the experiments allows us to unambiguously identify the low-temperature phase with the β-coronene polymorph, recently reported as new and obtained in the presence of a magnetic field. We also suggest that additional measurements are needed to confirm that a magnetic field can actually drive the growth of a β-polymorph surviving indefinitely at ambient temperature

An Alternative Strategy to Polymorph Recognition at Work: The Emblematic Case of Coronene

We show that the development of highly accurate density functional theory calculations coupled to low-frequency Raman spectroscopy constitutes a valid method for polymorph characterization alternative/complementary to X-ray. The method is applied here to the temperature-induced, first-order phase transition of coronene, known for a long time, but has remained structurally uncharacterized due to crystal breaking during the process. The astonishing fidelity of the Raman calculated spectra to the experiments allows us to unambiguously identify the low-temperature phase with the β-coronene polymorph, recently reported as new and obtained in the presence of a magnetic field. We also suggest that additional measurements are needed to confirm that a magnetic field can actually drive the growth of a β-polymorph surviving indefinitely at ambient temperature