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The crystal structure of 4-methylcatechol (4MEC) has, to date, never been solved, despite its very simple chemical formula C7O2H8 and the many possible applications envisaged for this molecule. In this work, this gap is filled and the structure of 4MEC is obtained by combining X-ray powder diffraction and first principle calculations to carefully locate hydrogen atoms. Two molecules are present in the asymmetric unit. Hirshfeld analysis confirmed the reliability of the solved structure, since the two molecules show rather different environments and H-bond interactions of different directionality and strength. The packing is characterised by a peculiar hydrogen bond network with hydroxyl nests formed by two adjacent octagonal frameworks. It is noteworthy that the observed short contacts suggest strong inter-molecular interactions, further confirmed by strong inter-crystalline aggregation observed by microscopic images, indicating the growth, in many crystallization attempts, of single aggregates taller than half a centimetre and, often, with spherical shapes. These peculiarities are induced by the presence of methyl group in 4MEC, since the parent compound catechol, despite its chemical similarity, shows a standard layered packing alternating hydrophobic and polar layers. Finally, the complexity and peculiarity of the packing and crystal growth features explain why a single crystal could not be obtained for a standard structural analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanocrystalline powders of monometallic and bimetallic imidazolates of Co, Zn and Ag were produced by a reaction carried out in water. The powders were characterized by powder X-ray diffraction and the crystal structures of the new compounds Ag2ZnIm4 and Ag2CoIm4 (Im = imidazolate) were solved. Heterometallic Co/Zn imidazolates showed the known Zn-zni crystal structure while Ag/Zn and Ag/Co systems were isostructural to the copper analogs. The powders were further characterized by EDX, UV-Vis and FTIR ATR spectroscopy in the solid state. The catalytic experiments indicated that out of the studied heterometallic compounds only Ag2Co(Im)4 exhibits some catalytic activity in the oxidation reaction of 1-phenylethanol with tert-butylhydroperoxide at elevated temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sodium sebacate salts have several industrial applications as additives, lubricants, and a metal self-healing promoter in general industry, and some derivatives also have wide applications in cosmetics and pharmaceutical fields. Calcium sebacate formation and precipitation can be detrimental for the systems where sodium sebacate is used. It is thus important to investigate their crystallization features. Sodium and calcium sebacate were prepared, purified, and crystallized with different approaches to carry out a full X-ray diffraction powder diffraction structural analysis since suitable single crystals cannot be obtained. The calcium sebacate crystal structure was solved by simulated annealing. Calcium ions form layers connected by straight "all trans" sebacate molecules, a conformation that is also suggested by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy FTIR data. Water molecules are caged within calcium layers. The crystal structure is characterized by the calcium layers bent by 10.65 ° with respect to the plane where sebacate chains lie, different from other dicarboxilic salts, such as cesium suberate, where the layers are perpendicular to the cation planes. The sodium sebacate crystal structure resulted in being impossible to be solved, despite several crystallization attempts and the different data collection approaches. FTIR spectroscopy indicates marked differences between the structures of calcium and sodium sebacate, suggesting a different type of metal coordination by carboxyls. Calcium sebacate shows a bis-bidentate chelating and bridging configuration ( (κ 2) − (κ 1 − κ 1) − μ 3 − C a r b ), while for sodium sebacate, FTIR spectroscopy indicates an ionic interaction between sodium and the carboxyls. A thermogravimetric analysis TGA was carried out to assess the hydration states of the two salts. Calcium sebacate shows, as expected, a total weight loss of ca. 7%, corresponding to the single water molecule located in the crystal structure, while sodium sebacate shows no weight loss before total combustion, indicating that its structure is not hydrated. Scanning electron microscopy SEM images show different morphologies for calcium and sodium salts, probably a consequence of the different interactions at the molecular lever suggested by FTIR and TGA. The used approach can be extended to fatty acid salt in general, a still under-explored field because of the difficulty of growing suitable single crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The liquid-assisted grinding (LAG) approach was exploited to efficiently produce a new salt cocrystal with a minimum expenditure of reagents and energy, with possible application in the pharmaceutical field. LAG was applied to the acridine/diclofenac couple, and a new cocrystal was obtained with a 1:1 ratio of reagents and its structure resolved by X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The XRPD analysis confirmed that the yield is higher than 90% and the limited use of solvents and the absence of waste generally makes the synthesis very efficient and with the minimum possible environmental impact. The crystal structure of the title compound was compared to a previously solved 1:2 cocrystal, also with the aid of Hirshfeld's surface analysis and calculations of the energy framework. The packing of the 1:1 structure is stabilized by a strong H-bond and partial π ⋯ π -stacking interactions. It differs considerably from that of the previously identified cocrystal, in which two strong hydrogen bonds and a perfect interlocking of the molecules thanks to the the π ⋯ π stacking induce a much higher stability, as confirmed by energy framework calculations. DSC analysis confirmed its purity and a melting point at 140 °C, which is different from those of the two reactants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cocrystallization of active pharmaceutical ingredient naproxen with some acridines (acridine, 9-aminoacridine, 6,9-diamino-2-ethoxyacridine) has been explored and the conditions under which the crystallization can be carried out have been investigated. While the crystallization of acridine-based molecular crystals was widely studied under solution conditions, solvent-free and/or mechanochemical method potentialities are still unknown. To fill this gap, the cocrystallization of naproxen with the above-mentioned acridines was attempted using different approaches, e.g., by heat treatment of the dry mechanical mixture and by liquid-assisted grinding (LAG), as alternatives to the traditional precipitation by a proper solution. In the first case, the reaction is driven under dry conditions by the temperature and gave no results independently of the temperature used, below or above the melting point of the reactants. In the second case, the reaction is driven by the mechanical action of grinding assisted by a few drops of solvent to facilitate and improve the reaction. This screening allowed obtaining three new molecular crystals for naproxen coupled to acridine and a mono-aminoacridine and solved by single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD). Two host–guest structures were obtained by solution crystallization, while a layered structure was obtained under LAG conditions. Interconversion between molecular crystals formed by the same chemical species was hindered once a molecular crystal was obtained by a specific technique. Hirshfeld and energy framework calculations confirmed the remarkable structural differences between 1α and 1β packing and suggested that 1β is kinetically more stable. Variable-temperature PXRD, DSC and TGA were used to explore the stability of the compounds. 6,9-Diamino-2-ethoxyacridine proved to be too polar and/or too bulky to form crystals with naproxen regardless of the preparation method and the different stoichiometric ratios used. It is noteworthy that LAG allowed the preparation of the naproxen/acridine molecular crystal with a yield higher than 99% under almost solvent-free conditions. DSC indicated the formation of a eutectic between naproxen and acridine, with the possibility of recrystallizing the 1 : 1 complex also from the melt solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In materials and earth science, but also in chemistry, pharmaceutics and engineering, the quantification of elements and crystal phases in solid samples is often essential for a full characterization of materials. The most frequently used techniques for this purpose are X-ray fluorescence (XRF) for elemental analysis and X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) for phase analysis. In both methods, relations between signal and quantity do exist but they are expressed in terms of complex equations including many parameters related to both sample and instruments, and the dependence on the active element or phase amounts to be determined is convoluted among those parameters. Often real-life samples hold relations not suitable for a direct quantification and, therefore, estimations based only on the values of the relative intensities are affected by large errors. Preferred orientation (PO) and microabsorption (MA) in XRPD cannot usually be avoided, and traditional corrections in Rietveld refinement, such as the Brindley MA correction, are not able, in general, to restore the correct phase quantification. In this work, a multivariate approach, where principal component analysis is exploited alone or combined with regression methods, is used on XRPD profiles collected on ad hoc designed mixtures to face and overcome the typical problems of traditional approaches. Moreover, the partial or no known crystal structure (PONKCS) method was tested on XRPD data, as an example of a hybrid approach between Rietveld and multivariate approaches, to correct for the MA effect. Particular attention is given to the comparison and selection of both method and pre-process, the two key steps for good performance when applying multivariate methods to obtain reliable quantitative estimations from XRPD data, especially when MA and PO are present. A similar approach was tested on XRF data to deal with matrix effects and compared with the more classical fundamental-parameter approach. Finally, useful indications to overcome the difficulties of the general user in managing the parameters for a successful application of multivariate approaches for XRPD and XRF data analysis are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document is a correction notice for an article titled "The Crystal Structure of Calcium Sebacate by X-ray Powder Diffraction Data." The correction addresses a mistake in Equation (1) of the original publication, which did not accurately explain how calcium is coordinated with sebacate molecules. The corrected version of Equation (1) is provided in the notice. The authors assure that this correction does not affect the scientific conclusions of the article. [Extracted from the article]

The exact recipe to prepare the ancient Maya Blue (MB), an incredibly resistant and brilliant pigment prepared from indigo (dye) and Palygorskite (clay), is lost to the ages. To unravel the key features of the MB formation process, several inorganic‐dye couples were heated to 200 °C and cooled to RT, to investigate their reactivity and the diffusion and degree of sequestration of the dye into the inorganic host. In situ XRPD/PDF and fiber optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) data, along with TGA, provided a comprehensive overview on MB formation mechanism. XRPD/PDF gave information on long/short range behaviors of water desorption/adsorption and indigo sequestration, while TGA and in situ FORS gave information on mass and optical changes within temperature. Ex situ dye removal was used to understand the sample stability after the thermal treatment. A statistical approach based on principal component analysis was exploited to efficiently and jointly analyze the ≈3000 collected patterns. MB formation starts below 110 °C with disordered distribution of indigo within the channels, reaching maximum reaction speed and higher ordering at 150 °C. Above 175 °C, color changes and a stronger sequestration of indigo into framework channels are observed, whereas the affinity for water is dramatically reduced. The origin of different colors, hues, and stability in historical MB samples can then be explained in terms of different thermal histories of the starting mechanical indigo/palygorskite mixtures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Layered double hydroxides (LDHs) are nanomaterials with interesting properties finding applications in many fields, such as catalysis, environmental chemistry, and pharmaceuticals. They are anionic clays with positively charged layers and anions within the layers to reach neutrality. Their properties are defined by both composition and morphology. The composition can be tuned by exchanging the interlayer anion. The far more stable, common, and highly prevalent among natural LDHs is the carbonate anion thanks to its double negative charge. To adapt the properties of LDHs for technological applications, the challenge is to exchange the carbonate with the functionalizing monovalent anions in an effective and cheap way. In this study, the exchange of carbonate with nitrate ions is studied by in situ X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD). The exchange is carried out by a liquid-assisted grinding approach, inserting the mechanically ground dry sample in a capillary and then wetting it with a drop of nitric acid, while measuring the XRPD pattern. The kinetics of the process was investigated by the Avrami-Erofe'ev method; the reaction mechanism was determined using the advancing interface model and by analyzing the XRD peak shapes, which evidentiate changes in the crystallinity during the reaction. The reaction starts from the faces perpendicular to the layers and occurs along the channels, increasingly limited by diffusion when approaching the internal part of the crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the paper by Ishihara et al. [[5]], multivariate analysis demonstrated its power when the probe is completely different from traditional diffraction techniques: a cocrystal formation reaction was followed by teraHertz spectroscopy, and the dataset was successfully analyzed using the multivariate curve resolution approach. Here, the authors demonstrated how PCA can support traditional XRPD data refinement methods to obtain the best possible location of gas molecules within a Y zeolite. The Special Issue contributions cover the main themes related to the applications of multivariate analysis to crystallography. [Extracted from the article]

Multivariate analysis (MA) is becoming a fundamental tool for processing in an efficient way the large amount of data collected in X-ray diffraction experiments. Multi-wedge data collections can increase the data quality in case of tiny protein crystals; in situ or operando setups allow investigating changes on powder samples occurring during repeated fast measurements; pump and probe experiments at X-ray free-electron laser (XFEL) sources supply structural characterization of fast photo-excitation processes. In all these cases, MA can facilitate the extraction of relevant information hidden in data, disclosing the possibility of automatic data processing even in absence of a priori structural knowledge. MA methods recently used in the field of X-ray diffraction are here reviewed and described, giving hints about theoretical background and possible applications. The use of MA in the framework of the modulated enhanced diffraction technique is described in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrotalcites are layered double hydroxides (LDHs) of the anionic clay family. They can be obtained by synthesis, with high purity and controlled stoichiometry but with much larger preparation efforts and costs with respect to natural ores. Their properties can be tailored by changing the metals of the layer, or by inserting proper inorganic or organic anions. The reason of the few industrial applications of LDHs might be the difficulty of scaling up their synthesis and anion exchange methods, requiring often cumbersome procedures for filtering, recovery and purification of the final products. Recently, huge efforts were made to obtain facile and easily scalable preparation methods, especially favoured by the almost complete elimination of solvents and water-based procedures. The structures of the nanocomposites were studied by several techniques, from electron microscopy and diffraction to X-ray powder diffraction (the unique structural techniques able to face the low crystallinity of these materials) coupled with others, to obtain an exhaustive view of LDHs structure and reactivity. These advancements and the perspectives of larger LDHs industrial applications are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]