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Intermolecular interactions play a fundamental role on the performance of conjugated materials in organic electronic devices, as they heavily influence their optoelectronic properties. Synthetic control over the solid state properties of organic optoelectronic materials is crucial to access real life applications. Perylene diimides (PDIs) are one of the most highly studied classes of organic fluorescent dyes. In the solid state, π-π stacking suppresses their emission, limiting their use in a variety of applications. Here, we report the synthesis of a novel PDI dye that is encapsulated by four alkylene straps. X-ray crystallography indicates that intermolecular π-π stacking is completely suppressed in the crystalline state. This is further validated by the photophysical properties of the dye in both solution and solid state and supported by theoretical calculations. However, we find that the introduction of the encapsulating "arms" results in the creation of charge-transfer states which modify the excited state properties. This article demonstrates that molecular encapsulation can be used as a powerful tool to tune intermolecular interactions and thereby gain an extra level of control over the solid state properties of organic optoelectronic materials.

Co‐crystallisation is widely explored as a route to improve the physical properties of pharmaceutical active ingredients, but little is known about the fundamental mechanisms of the process. Herein, we apply a hyphenated differential scanning calorimetry—X‐ray diffraction technique to mimic the commercial hot melt extrusion process, and explore the heat‐induced synthesis of a series of new co‐crystals containing isonicotinamide. These comprise a 1:1 co‐crystal with 4‐hydroxybenzoic acid, 2:1 and 1:2 systems with 4‐hydroxyphenylacetic acid and a 1:1 crystal with 3,4‐dihydroxyphenylactic acid. The formation of co‐crystals during heating is complex mechanistically. In addition to co‐crystallisation, conversions between polymorphs of the co‐former starting materials and co‐crystal products are also observed. A subsequent study exploring the use of inkjet printing and milling to generate co‐crystals revealed that the synthetic approach has a major effect on the co‐crystal species and polymorphs produced., Co‐crystallisation is widely explored as a route to improve the physical properties of pharmaceutical active ingredients, but little is known about the fundamental mechanisms of the process. In this study, X‐ray diffraction was used to provide an unprecedented insight into pharmaceutical co‐crystallisation processes (see figure).

L-Arabinose is an abundant resource available as a waste product of the sugar beet industry. Through use of a hydrazone-based strategy, L-arabinose was selectively dehydrated to form a chiral tetrahydrofuran on a multi-gram scale without the need for protecting groups. This approach was extended to other biomass-derived reducing sugars and the mechanism of the key cyclization investigated. This methodology was applied to the synthesis of a range of functionalized chiral tetrahydrofurans, as well as a formal synthesis of 3R-3-hydroxymuscarine.

The [4+2] cycloaddition of 3-alkoxyfurans with N-substituted maleimides provides the first general route for preparing endo-cantharimides. Unlike the corresponding reaction with 3H furans, the reaction can tolerate a broad range of 2-substitued furans including alkyl, aromatic, and heteroaromatic groups. The cycloaddition products were converted into a range of cantharimide products with promising lead-like properties for medicinal chemistry programs. Furthermore, the electron-rich furans are shown to react with a variety of alternative dienophiles to generate 7-oxabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane derivatives under mild conditions. DFT calculations have been performed to rationalize the activation effect of the 3-alkoxy group on a furan Diels–Alder reaction.

Theophylline, a pharmaceutical model compound, was screened for cocrystal formation using nine (di)hydroxybenzoic acids as cocrystal formers, namely, 2-, 3-, 4-hydroxybenzoic- and 2,3-, 2,4-, 2,5-, 2,6-, 3,4-, and 3,5-dihydroxybenzoic acids. The experiments were conducted using an efficient, reliable, and fast screening method based on thermodynamically driven solution-mediated phase transformation and revealed the formation of eight cocrystals and one salt. The theophylline-based solids were identified using powder and structurally characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction. The obtained solids are sustained by theopylline-carboxylic acid heterosynthons, in addition to both theophylline and carboxylic acid homosynthons. The results are a part of a systematic study of xanthine-alkaloid cocrystals that aims to establish synthon hierarchies in cocrystals comprised of molecules with multiple hydrogen-bonding functional groups. Structural features and synthon hierachies are discussed and compared to t...

Two new palladium-catalysed reactions have been developed for the synthesis of stable 4-substituted benzooxaborinin-1-ols. A palladium-catalysed cyclisation of ortho-alkenylbenzene boronic acids can be used to access 4-chlorobenzooxaborinin-1-ols via a Wacker-type oxidation and chlorination. Alternatively, ortho-alkynylbenzene boronic acids undergo a palladium-catalysed oxyallylation reaction to provide 4-allylbenzooxaborinin-1-ols.

We describe a conceptually novel “accelerated aging” approach for the synthesis of metal–organic materials. This approach, inspired by natural mineral weathering processes, enables the synthesis of metal–organic structures from simple and inexpensive solid reactants upon exposure to catalytic amounts of an ammonium salt under conditions of high humidity and mild temperatures (up to 45 °C). Accelerated aging exploits the inherent mobility of molecules and is entirely different from solution-based (precipitation, solvothermal synthesis) or other solvent-free (mechanochemical synthesis) approaches to metal–organic materials that require either bulk solvent and/or thermo- or mechanochemical intervention. The present proof-of-principle study of accelerated aging demonstrates the catalysed and topologically specific transformation of ZnO into unusual close-packed varieties of zeolitic imidazolate frameworks (ZIFs) in a static, non-agitated reaction mixture. The reactivity is readily scaled up, as demonstrated by performing selected syntheses of quartz- and diamondoid-topology close-packed ZIFs in ten gram amounts. The latter framework, previously obtained only by using a large excess of reagents under hydrothermal conditions, is transformed into the well-known open framework ZIF-8 by exposure to methanol vapours at room temperature, suggesting an alternative to both solvothermal and mechanochemical approaches to these materials. A tentative proton-transfer mechanism underpinning the catalytic effect in accelerated aging is proposed, involving protonated imidazole as an intermediate.

A supramolecular protecting group strategy has been applied to achieve solid-state photodimerizations of olefins lined with a combination of hydrogen-bond-donor and -acceptor groups. Esters were used as protecting groups to generate head-to-head photodimers that were readily converted into diacids. A protected olefin equipped with a stilbene unit exhibits enhanced reactivity that is ascribed to pedal motions in the solid state (orange hexagons: template: blur circles: recognition sites). Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

A bridge-substituted [2.2]paracyclophane obtained from the organic solid state exhibits a dramatic red shift in fluorescence relative to [2.2]paracyclophane. A further red shift occurs upon alkylation of the pyridylcyclobutyl bridges. Our results demonstrate that [2.2]cyclophanes substituted at the bridge, despite not being attached via the extended pi-system, are promising building blocks in the development of optical materials.

Caffeine, a pharmaceutical model compound, generally forms cocrystals with carboxylic acids that involve an O−H···N hydrogen bond between the carboxylic acid group of the acid and the caffeine imidazole moiety. Such solids are typically based on a single heterosynthon. To examine the facility of introducing additional supramolecular heterosynthons to the caffeine-carboxylic-acid cocrystal system, structural isomers of aromatic carboxylic acids (i.e., hydroxy- and dihydroxybenzoic acids) with additional hydrogen-bonding functional groups (i.e., hydroxy group) were screened for cocrystal formation. For this purpose, a highly efficient screening method based on thermodynamically driven solution-mediated phase transformation was utilized. This method enabled the rapid discovery of nine new solid phases involving caffeine. These caffeine phases were identified using single-crystal X-ray diffraction and FT-IR spectroscopy as cocrystals based on 2-, 3-, 4-hydroxybenzoic- and 2,3-, 2,4-, 2,5-, 3,4-, and 3,5-dihyd...

We describe how reactivity can be controlled in the solid state using molecules and self-assembled metal-organic complexes as templates. Being able to control reactivity in the solid state bears relevance to synthetic chemistry and materials science. The former offers a promise to synthesize molecules that may be impossible to realize from the liquid phase while also taking advantage of the benefits of conducting highly stereocontrolled reactions in a solvent-free environment (i.e., green chemistry). The latter provides an opportunity to modify bulk physical properties of solids (e.g., optical properties) through changes to molecular structure that result from a solid-state reaction. Reactions in the solid state have been difficult to control owing to frustrating effects of molecular close packing. The high degree of order provided by the solid state also means that the templates can be developed to determine how principles of supramolecular chemistry can be generally employed to form covalent bonds. The paradigm of synthetic chemistry employed by Nature is based on integrating noncovalent and covalent bonds. The templates assemble olefins via either hydrogen bond or coordination-driven self-assembly for intermolecular [2 + 2] photodimerizations. The olefins are assembled within discrete, or finite, self-assembled complexes, which effectively decouples chemical reactivity from effects of crystal packing. The control of the solid-state assembly process affords the supramolecular construction of targets in the form of cyclophanes and ladderanes. The targets form stereospecifically, in quantitative yield, and in gram amounts. Both [3]- and [5]-ladderanes have been synthesized. The ladderanes are comparable to natural ladderane lipids, which are a new and exciting class of natural products recently discovered in anaerobic marine bacteria. The organic templates function as either hydrogen bond donors or hydrogen bond acceptors. The donors and acceptors generate cyclobutanes lined with pyridyl and carboxylic acid groups, respectively. The metal-organic templates are based on Zn(II) and Ag(I) ions. The reactivity involving Zn(II) ions is shown to affect optical properties in the form of solid-state fluorescence. The solids based on both the organic and metal-organic templates undergo rare single-crystal-to-single-crystal reactions. We also demonstrate how the cyclobutanes obtained from this method can be applied as novel polytopic ligands of metallosupramolecular assemblies (e.g., self-assembled capsules) and materials (e.g., metal-organic frameworks). Sonochemistry is also used to generate nanostructured single crystals of the multicomponent solids or cocrystals based on the organic templates. Collectively, our observations suggest that the organic solid state can be integrated into more mainstream settings of synthetic organic chemistry and be developed to construct functional crystalline solids.

L-Arabinose is an abundant resource available as a waste product of the sugar beet industry. Through use of a hydrazone-based strategy, L-arabinose was selectively dehydrated to form a chiral tetrahydrofuran on a multi-gram scale without the need for protecting groups. This approach was extended to other biomass-derived reducing sugars and the mechanism of the key cyclization investigated. This methodology was applied to the synthesis of a range of functionalized chiral tetrahydrofurans, as well as a formal synthesis of 3R-3-hydroxymuscarine.

This article outlines the benefits of using 'Design of Experiments' (DoE) optimisation during the development of new synthetic methodology. A particularly important factor in the development of new chemical reactions is the choice of solvent which can often drastically alter the efficiency and selectivity of a process. Whilst solvent optimisation is usually done in a non-systematic way based upon a chemist's intuition and previous laboratory experience, we illustrate how optimisation of the solvent for a reaction can be carried out by using a 'map of solvent space' in a DoE optimisation. A new solvent map has been developed specifically for optimisation of new chemical reactions using principle component analysis (PCA) incorporating 136 solvents with a wide range of properties. The new solvent map has been used to identify safer alternatives to toxic/hazardous solvents, and also in the optimisation of an S(N)Ar reaction.

Cycloaddition of 3-alkoxyfurans with N-substituted maleimides provides the first general route towards endo-cantharimide analogs.

We show that a molecule constructed from an organic solid-state synthesis, namely, rctt-1,3-bis(2-pyridyl)-2,4-bis(4-pyridyl)cyclobutane (ht-2,4′-tpcb) upon reaction with Cu(II) and Zn(II) ions gives one- (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) of composition [Cu(hfac)2(2,4′-tpcb-ht)]∞ (where: hfac=hexafluoroacetylacetonate) (1) and [ Zn ( 2 , 4 ′ ‐ tpcb ‐ ht ) 2 ( H 2 O ) 2 ] ∞ 2 + (2). Each MOF possesses uncoordinated, or free, 2-pyridyl groups that decorate the walls of each extended structure.

A bicyclobutyl that bears six carboxylic acid groups results from a trimerisation of a diene diacid in the solid state. Powder X-ray diffraction and a co-crystallisation are used to solve the structure of the diene and elucidate the stereochemistry of the bicyclobutyl, respectively.

Multi-component organic nanocrystals that are comprised of two or more supramolecular building blocks can be used to extend the design and assembly scope of solid molecular materials. Herein, we report the use of ultrasonication to prepare halogen-bonded stilbene-based nano-cocrystals that exhibit different photoemission properties, including one- and two-phonon emission and fluorescence lifetimes, relative to those of macrodimensional crystals. The structural transformation from nano-cocrystals into nanocrystals upon heating results in a luminescence red-shift from greenish blue to yellow. The temperature-dependent ratiometric luminescence may allow such nano-cocrystals to be used as fluorescent sensors and thermosensitive materials.

Nano- and micrometer-scale crystals of a self-assembled hexamer have been synthesized via sonochemistry. The application of ultrasonic irradiation afforded hollow rhombic-dodecahedral crystals of the C-methylcalix[4]resorcinarene hexamer. The formation of the hollow crystals is attributed to a reversed crystal growth mechanism heretofore described only in the synthesis of inorganic-based materials.

A ditopic hydrogen-bond-donor template in the form of resorcinol facilitates a [2+2] cross-photodimerisation of 4-Cl-stilbazole and 4-Me-stilbazole in a rare cocrystal solid solution. A photoreaction does not proceed with the olefins individually or as a solid solution composed solely of the two olefins.

A resorcinol achieves a templated stereospecific and near-quantitative synthesis of a cofacial terpyridine in the solid state. The solid-state synthesis occurs in one-dimensional π-stacked columns with reactivities highly sensitive to peripheral groups attached to the template.

Metallogels form from Cu(II) ions and tetratopic ligand rctt-1,2-bis(3-pyridyl)-3,4-bis(4-pyridyl)cyclobutane. The tetrapyridyl cyclobutane has been synthesized in the organic solid state. The gel forms with a variety of counteranions and gels water. The hydrogel is thixotropic and is composed of nanoscale metal-organic particles (NMOPs), a high surface area of which likely accounts for the gelation of the polar aqueous medium. A shear stress profile of the thixotropic hydrogel gave a yield value of 8.33 Pa. A novel combination of atomic force microscopy (AFM) and scanning transmission X-ray microscopy (STXM) is used to assess the densities of individual NMOPs. A density of 1.37 g/cm(3) has been determined. A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study demonstrates the ability of the unsymmetrical cyclobutane 3,4'-tpcb to self-assemble with Cu(II) ions in [Cu(2)(hfac)(4)(3,4'-tpcb)](∞) (where hfac is hexafluoroacetylacetonate) to form a solvated 1D coordination polymer.

Co-crystal formation between caffeine and adipic acid has been explored over the years without success; utilizing the newly developed co-crystal screening method, we have finally discovered this “hidden” caffeine and adipic acid co-crystal.

Cocrystals are modular multicomponent solids with exceptional utility in synthetic chemistry and materials science. A variety of methods exist for the preparation of cocrystals, yet, some promising cocrystal phases have proven to be intractable synthetic targets. We describe a strategy for the synthesis of the pharmaceutically relevant (caffeine)·(benzoic acid) cocrystal (1), which persistently failed to form using a broad range of established techniques. State-of-the-art crystal structure prediction methods were employed to assess the possible existence of a thermodynamically stable form of 1, hence to identify appropriate heteronuclear seeds for cocrystallization. Once introduced, the designed heteronuclear seeds facilitated the formation of 1 and, significantly they (or seeds of the product cocrystal) continued to act as long-lasting laboratory “contaminants”, which encouraged cocrystal formation even when present at such low levels as to evade detection. The seeding technique described thus enables the synthesis of cocrystals regarded as unobtainable under desired conditions, and potentially signifies a new direction in the field of materials research.