Crystals and Crystal Growth

The aim of this critical review is to provide a broad but digestible overview of mechanochemical synthesis, i.e. reactions conducted by grinding solid reactants together with no or minimal solvent. Although mechanochemistry has historically been a sideline approach to synthesis it may soon move into the mainstream because it is increasingly apparent that it can be practical, and even advantageous, and because of the opportunities it provides for developing more sustainable methods. Concentrating on recent advances, this article covers industrial aspects, inorganic materials, organic synthesis, cocrystallisation, pharmaceutical aspects, metal complexes (including metal-organic frameworks), supramolecular aspects and characterization methods. The historical development, mechanistic aspects, limitations and opportunities are also discussed (314 references). This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2012

Owing to their scientific and technological importance, inorganic single crystals with highly reactive surfaces have long been studied. Unfortunately, surfaces with high reactivity usually diminish rapidly during the crystal growth process as a result of the minimization of surface energy. A typical example is titanium dioxide (TiO2), which has promising energy and environmental applications. Most available anatase TiO(2) crystals are dominated by the thermodynamically stable {101} facets (more than 94 per cent, according to the Wulff construction), rather than the much more reactive {001} facets. Here we demonstrate that for fluorine-terminated surfaces this relative stability is reversed: {001} is energetically preferable to {101}. We explored this effect systematically for a range of non-metallic adsorbate atoms by first-principle quantum chemical calculations. On the basis of theoretical predictions, we have synthesized uniform anatase TiO(2) single crystals with a high percentage (47 per cent) of {001} facets using hydrofluoric acid as a morphology controlling agent. Moreover, the fluorated surface of anatase single crystals can easily be cleaned using heat treatment to render a fluorine-free surface without altering the crystal structure and morphology.

X-ray single-crystal diffraction (SCD) analysis has the intrinsic limitation that the target molecules must be obtained as single crystals. Here we report a protocol for SCD analysis that does not require the crystallization of the sample. In our method, tiny crystals of porous complexes are soaked in a solution of the target, such that the complexes can absorb the target molecules. Crystallographic analysis clearly determines the absorbed guest structures along with the host frameworks. Because the SCD analysis is carried out on only one tiny crystal of the complex, the required sample mass is of the nanogram-microgram order. We demonstrate that as little as about 80 nanograms of a sample is enough for the SCD analysis. In combination with high-performance liquid chromatography, our protocol allows the direct characterization of multiple fractions, establishing a prototypical means of liquid chromatography SCD analysis. Furthermore, we unambiguously determined the structure of a scarce marine natural product using only 5 micrograms of the compound.