On the propulsion mechanism of "jumping" crystals

A crystalline metal-organic complex undergoes a polymorphic transformation upon cooling below 215 K. Depending on the cooling rate, crystals exhibit different behaviours that include breaking and "jumping". Variable temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical microscopy have been emplo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemical communications (Cambridge, England) England), 2013-01, Vol.49 (81), p.9293-9295
Main Authors: Lusi, Matteo, Bernstein, Joel
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:A crystalline metal-organic complex undergoes a polymorphic transformation upon cooling below 215 K. Depending on the cooling rate, crystals exhibit different behaviours that include breaking and "jumping". Variable temperature X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical microscopy have been employed to analyze the anisotropic changes of the crystallographic axes and propose a mechanism by which the crystals acquire the momentum for the jump.
ISSN:1359-7345
1364-548X
DOI:10.1039/c3cc45646c