Dynamic shock wave-induced switchable order to disorder states of single crystal of sulfamic acid: a combined study of X-ray and Raman spectroscopy.

Experimentation under dynamic shocked conditions has attained the status of one of the appealing classes of methods for identifying the functional materials whose degree of long-range order is significantly altered. In the present work, we have systematically investigated the dynamic impact of shock waves on the technologically important single crystal of sulfamic acid at various numbers of shocks exposed and the results have been analyzed by X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopic profiles. Based on the obtained results, the shocked phase profile with respect to the number of shock pulses is of the sequential order (Pbca)–disorder–order (Pbca)–disorder–order (Pbca) for the 0, 1, 2, 3 and 4 shocks, respectively. The observed switchable phase transitions of the titled crystal after shocked conditions might be due to the rotational order–disorder transformation that is followed by the molecular symmetry changes of NH3 and SO3 trigonal units for which the possible macroscopic mechanism is provided. The observed switchable phase transitions occurring between order and disorder states may be an interesting asset for molecular electronic devices such as the molecular switches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]