Crystal engineering using functionalized adamantane

We performed a first principles investigation on the structural, electronic, and optical properties of crystals made of chemically functionalized adamantane molecules. Several molecular building blocks, formed by boron and nitrogen substitutional functionalizations, were considered to build zincblende and wurtzite crystals, and the resulting structures presented large bulk moduli and cohesive energies, wide and direct bandgaps, and low dielectric constants (low-$\kappa$ materials). Those properties provide stability for such structures up to room temperature, superior to those of typical molecular crystals. This indicates a possible road map for crystal engineering using functionalized diamondoids, with potential applications ranging from space filling between conducting wires in nanodevices to nano-electro-mechanical systems

Adventures in crystal engineering

Crystals are all around us and are aesthetically pleasing as they arise from the ordered, three-dimensional assembly of chemical species which can be minerals (e.g. salt), macromolecules (e.g. proteins) or smaller chemical species (e.g. drugs, natural products, coordination complexes, etc.). Scientists need to know the precise structure of all these materials in order to rationalise the way they work. To put it in another way, “structure determines function”. Single-crystal X-ray crystallography is the crucial technique behind the determination of crystal structure. Despite the prevalence and obvious importance of crystals, what remains an enormous challenge in contemporary science is to answer the fundamental question of “How do crystals form?”. The goal of crystal engineering is to control the way molecules self-assemble in the condensed phase and the present discussion relates to this topic, an on-going research programme undertaken at Sunway University

Innovation in crystal engineering

Journal ArticleThe first CrystEngComm discussion meeting on crystal engineering has demonstrated that the field has reached maturity in some areas (for example: design strategies, characterization of solid compounds, topological analysis of weak and strong non-covalent interactions), while the quest for novel properties engineered at molecular and supramolecular levels has only recently begun and the need for further research efforts is strongly felt. This Highlight article aims to provide a forward look and a constructive discussion of the prospects for future developments of crystal engineering as a bridge between supramolecular and molecular materials chemistry

Innovation in crystal engineering

The first CrystEngComm discussion meeting on crystal engineering has demonstrated that the field has reached maturity in some areas (for example: design strategies, characterization of solid compounds, topological analysis of weak and strong non-covalent interactions), while the quest for novel properties engineered at molecular and supramolecular levels has only recently begun and the need for further research efforts is strongly felt. This Highlight article aims to provide a forward look and a constructive discussion of the prospects for future developments of crystal engineering as a bridge between supramolecular and molecular materials chemistry

Graphene Nanoribbons Via Crystal Engineering

In this issue of Chem, Rubin and coworkers have developed a new approach for the bottom-up synthesis of graphene nanoribbons by efficiently combining crystal engineering and topochemical polymerization

Halogen Bonding beyond Crystals in Materials Science

Halogen bonding has recently gained well deserved attention in present-day research for its importance in many fields of supramolecular science and crystal engineering. Although generally overlooked in comprehensive studies in the past, halogen bonding has become an important tool also in the field of materials science. An increased number of scientific reports are published every year where halogen bonding is exploited in soft materials rather than in crystal engineering. Here, we focus on a description of the most exciting contemporary developments in the field of halogen-bonded functional soft materials, assembled using the guiding principles of crystal engineering. We give a particular emphasis to those published in the past few years

Crystal Engineering: A Powerful Tool towards Designing Pharmaceutical Solids with Desirable Physicochemical Properties

Nowadays various techniques have been applied for the improvement of physicochemical properties such as solubility, bioavailability, stability and hygroscopic nature of pharmaceutical solids without effecting the biochemical composition of the active pharmaceutical ingredients (API). Supramolecular approach specially the crystal engineering technique is one of the best techniques which play an important role to improve the physico-chemical, thermal and mechanical properties of drug molecules. Crystal engineering approach offers a number of routes such as co-crystallization, polymorphism, hydrate and salt formation with the help of which drug molecules with good physico-chemical behavior can be prepared. This article covers the concept of supramolecular chemistry and crystal engineering approach for the preparation of co-crystals and their application in pharmaceutical industries