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Precrystalline Aggregates Enable Control over Organic Crystallization in Solution
Author(s) -
Shahar Chen,
Dutta Sounak,
Weissman Haim,
Shimon Linda J. W.,
Ott Holger,
Rybtchinski Boris
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.201507659
Subject(s) - crystallization , materials science , amorphous solid , phase (matter) , amphiphile , crystal (programming language) , chemical engineering , perylene , aqueous solution , solvation , crystallography , chemical physics , chemistry , molecule , polymer , organic chemistry , programming language , computer science , engineering , copolymer , composite material
Understanding and controlling organic crystallization in solution is a long‐standing challenge. Herein, we show that crystallization of an aromatic amphiphile based on perylene diimide in aqueous media involves initially formed amorphous spherical aggregates that evolve into the crystalline phase. The initial appearance of the crystalline order is always confined to the spherical aggregates that are precursors for crystalline evolution. The change in the solvation of the prenucleation phase drives the crystallization process towards crystals that exhibit very different structure and photofunction. The initial molecular structure and subsequent crystal evolution can be regulated by tuning the hydrophobicity at various stages of crystallization, affording dissimilar crystalline products or hindering crystallization. Thus, the key role of the precrystalline states in organic crystal evolution enables a new strategy to control crystallization by precrystalline state manipulation.