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Effects of Temperature on the Shape and Symmetry of Molecules and Solids
Author(s) -
Carreras Abel,
Bernuz Efrem,
Marugan Xavier,
Llunell Miquel,
Alemany Pere
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
chemistry – a european journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.687
H-Index - 242
eISSN - 1521-3765
pISSN - 0947-6539
DOI - 10.1002/chem.201801682
Subject(s) - symmetry (geometry) , theoretical physics , octahedral symmetry , molecular symmetry , molecule , motion (physics) , chemical physics , atom (system on chip) , simple (philosophy) , physics , chemistry , classical mechanics , quantum mechanics , geometry , computer science , epistemology , mathematics , philosophy , embedded system , ion
Abstract Despite its undeniable problems from a philosophical point of view, the concept of molecular structure, with attributes such as shape and symmetry, directly borrowed from the description of macroscopic objects, is nowadays central to most of the chemical sciences. Descriptions such as “the tetrahedral carbon atom” or “octahedral coordination complexes” are widely used as much in elementary textbooks as in the most up‐to‐date research articles. The definition of molecular shape is, however, not as simple as it might seem at first sight. Molecules don't behave as macroscopic objects do, and the arrangement of atoms within a molecule changes continuously due to the incessant motion of its constituent particles, nuclei, and electrons. How are molecular shape and symmetry affected by this thermal motion? In this Minireview, we introduce the language of continuous symmetry measures as a new tool to quantitatively describe the effects of temperature on molecular shape and symmetry, enriching in this way the set of molecular descriptors that might be used in the establishment of new empirical structure–property relations, of great interest in concomitant areas such as medicinal chemistry or materials science.