Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals

A special issue of Crystals (ISSN 2073-4352).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2017)

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Chemistry, University of Namur, Rue de Bruxelles 61, 5000 Namur, Belgium
Interests: crystal engineering; crystallography; pharmaceutical solids; co-crystals; polymorphism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We invite investigators to submit papers, which discuss the preparation, development and characterization of thermo and/or photochromic solids. The crystal systems under study are not restricted to any family of compounds, but contributions should focus on colour changes induced in the solid state, upon temperature changes, or irradiation of light.

The Special Issue on “Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals” is intended to provide an international forum covering a broad description of the title topic. Scientists working from a wide range of disciplines are invited to contribute, either by submitting original research reports or by proposing review articles.

The potential topics include, but are not limited to:

  • Solid state synthesis and characterization of thermo and/or photochromic solids
  • Crystal growth of thermo and/or photochromic solids
  • Mechanism of colour changes dependance on temperature or irradiation
  • In situ monitoring of structral changes induced by temperature and/or irradiation
  • Theroretical approches of solid state photochromism in relation with crystal structures
  • Advances in development of new thermo and/or photochromic solids
  • Reliability and stability of the crystal properties, including aging and fatigue
  • Original materials incorporating thermo and/or photochromic crystals in matrices
  • Applications of thermo and/or photochromic crystals and prototype demonstration.

Prof. Dr. Johan Wouters
Guest Editor

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Crystals is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

  • Thermochromic crystals
  • Photochromism crystals
  • Solid state colour changes

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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10826 KiB  
Article
A Structural Analysis of Spiropyran and Spirooxazine Compounds and Their Polymorphs
by Vanessa Kristina Seiler, Nikolay Tumanov, Koen Robeyns, Johan Wouters, Benoit Champagne and Tom Leyssens
Crystals 2017, 7(3), 84; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7030084 - 13 Mar 2017
Cited by 21 | Viewed by 7578
Abstract
In this work, crystal structures of commercially available photochromic compounds, i.e., spiropyrans and spirooxazines, were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A total of five new structures were obtained via isothermal evaporation experiments under different conditions, namely 1,3,3-Trimethylindolino-benzopyrylospiran (I), 1,3,3-Trimethylindolinonaphtospirooxaxine (II), 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-3,3-dimethylindolino-6′-nitrobenzopyrylospiran (III), and [...] Read more.
In this work, crystal structures of commercially available photochromic compounds, i.e., spiropyrans and spirooxazines, were investigated by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. A total of five new structures were obtained via isothermal evaporation experiments under different conditions, namely 1,3,3-Trimethylindolino-benzopyrylospiran (I), 1,3,3-Trimethylindolinonaphtospirooxaxine (II), 1-(2-Hydroxyethyl)-3,3-dimethylindolino-6′-nitrobenzopyrylospiran (III), and 1,3,3-Trimethylindolino-8′-methoxybenzopyrylospiran (IVa and IVb). Since the basic structure of a spiropyran/-oxazine does not present typical hydrogen bond accepting and donating groups, this study illustrates the importance of additional functional groups connected to this kind of molecules to induce specific intermolecular interactions. Our results show that possible hydrogen bonding interactions are rather weak due to the high steric demand of these compounds. These results are supported by a search of the Cambridge structural database focused on related structures. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals)
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18162 KiB  
Article
Four Thermochromic o-Hydroxy Schiff Bases of α-Aminodiphenylmethane: Solution and Solid State Study
by Marija Zbačnik, Katarina Pičuljan, Jelena Parlov-Vuković, Predrag Novak and Andreas Roodt
Crystals 2017, 7(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7010025 - 14 Jan 2017
Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6822
Abstract
More than a hundred years after the first studies of the photo- and thermochromism of o-hydroxy Schiff bases (imines), it is still an intriguing topic that fascinates several research groups around the world. The reasons for such behavior are still under investigation, [...] Read more.
More than a hundred years after the first studies of the photo- and thermochromism of o-hydroxy Schiff bases (imines), it is still an intriguing topic that fascinates several research groups around the world. The reasons for such behavior are still under investigation, and this work is a part of it. We report the solution-based and mechanochemical synthesis of four o-hydroxy imines derived from α-aminodiphenylmethane. The thermochromic properties were studied for the single crystal and polycrystalline samples of the imines. The supramolecular impact on the keto-enol tautomerism in the solid state was studied using SCXRD and NMR, while NMR spectroscopy was used for the solution state. All four imines are thermochromic, although the color changes of the single crystals are not as strong as of the polycrystalline samples. One of the imines shows negative thermochromism, and that one is in keto-amine tautomeric form, both in the solid state as in solution. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals)
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3821 KiB  
Article
Photo-Thermal Effects in 1D Gratings of Gold Nanoparticles
by Giovanna Palermo, Tiziana Ritacco, Dante Maria Aceti, Luigia Pezzi, Michele Giocondo and Antonio De Luca
Crystals 2017, 7(1), 14; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst7010014 - 6 Jan 2017
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5372
Abstract
This work investigates the heat delivered by a mono-layer 1D grating of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) created by photo-reduction through two-photon direct laser writing (2P-DLW) in a poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix doped with HAuCl4, under resonant laser radiation. We drop cast a [...] Read more.
This work investigates the heat delivered by a mono-layer 1D grating of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) created by photo-reduction through two-photon direct laser writing (2P-DLW) in a poly-vinyl alcohol (PVA) matrix doped with HAuCl4, under resonant laser radiation. We drop cast a film of a PVA + HAuCl4 mixture onto a glass substrate, in which we create gratings of 1 mm2 made by stripes of GNPs characterized by high polydispersivity. We demonstrate that, by controlling the pitch of the GNP stripes, we obtain different values of the photo-induced temperature variations. In the framework of thermo-plasmonics, the experimental investigation of the heat generation from a monolayer of gold nanoparticles represents a key element as a starting point to design thermo-smart platforms for sensing, solar energy harvesting and thermo-catalysis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals)
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Other

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1932 KiB  
Technical Note
Synthesis and Crystallographic Characterization of a Maleimide Derivative of Tryptamine
by Jean Dubois, Melwin Colaço, Grégoire Rondelet and Johan Wouters
Crystals 2016, 6(11), 153; https://doi.org/10.3390/cryst6110153 - 21 Nov 2016
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 7428
Abstract
While mechanosynthesis of the target compound, 1-[2-(1H-indol-3-yl)-ethyl]-pyrrole-2,5-dione, C14 H12 N2 O2, did not yield the desired product, it instead resulted in an open intermediate. On the other hand, synthesis starting from the activated maleic anhydride yielded [...] Read more.
While mechanosynthesis of the target compound, 1-[2-(1H-indol-3-yl)-ethyl]-pyrrole-2,5-dione, C14 H12 N2 O2, did not yield the desired product, it instead resulted in an open intermediate. On the other hand, synthesis starting from the activated maleic anhydride yielded the final maleimide compound. The outcome of the mechanosynthesis has been evaluated by powder X-ray diffraction, and structures of both the final product and open intermediate have been confirmed using single-crystal crystallography. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermo- and Photochromic Molecular Crystals)
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