@article {49655, title = {Simultaneously mechanically flexible, photobending, and acidochromic cyanostilbene molecular crystals}, journal = {Crystal Growth \& Design}, volume = {25}, year = {2024}, month = {DEC}, pages = {309-318}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Molecular crystals that respond to multiple stimuli are gaining significant attention for their potential in smart materials like actuators and sensors. However, imparting multiple stimuli-responsive properties to a single crystal remains a major challenge. Herein, we report two cyanostilbene derivative-based crystals 1 and 2, with various responses to stimuli such as mechanical stress, light, acid vapors, etc. Both crystals 1 and 2 demonstrated mechanical flexibility and reversible acidochromism. Additionally, crystal 1 also exhibited light-induced photobending, which is ascribed to Z to E photoisomerization. Detailed structure-property correlation was established to unravel distinct mechanical responses. The development of these multitasking crystals may find applications in multitasking actuators, anticounterfeiting materials, and more.

}, issn = {1528-7483}, doi = {10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01341}, author = {Parthasarathy, Thiyagaraj and Mishra, Manish Kumar and Bhattacharya, Biswajit and Emmerling, Franziska and Ghosh, Soumyajit} } @article {49297, title = {Structural basis for a two-dimensional flexible pharmaceutical solvate crystal: indomethacin methanol}, journal = {CrystEngComm}, volume = {26}, year = {2024}, month = {OCT}, pages = {5694-5698}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

We report the first two-dimensionally (2D) elastically bendable and twistable pharmaceutical-solvate crystal, indomethacin methanol. Its flexibility is due to interlocked packing and a structural buffer acting like isotropic interactions. For the first time, we utilized Raman spectroscopy on the two elastic faces of a bent crystal region, revealing the inhomogeneous molecular distribution in the crystal structure during bending and validating the mechanistic model of the 2D elastic crystal. We present the first 2D elastic pharmaceutical-solvate crystal and utilized Raman spectroscopy to reveal inhomogeneous lattice distribution during bending.

}, doi = {10.1039/d4ce00920g}, author = {Bhowmik, Aritra and Bamane, Sanjivani and Mishra, Manish Kumar} } @article {49390, title = {Template-asisted visible light-induced [2+2] photodimerization in a pseudopolymorphic binary solid: topotactic transformation vs photoinduced crystal melting}, journal = {CRYSTAL GROWTH \& DESIGN}, volume = {24}, year = {2024}, month = {MAY }, pages = {5193-5199}, type = {Journal Article}, keywords = {CATION-PI INTERACTIONS, SINGLE-CRYSTAL, STATE PHOTODIMERIZATION, Supramolecular}, issn = {1528-7483}, doi = {10.1021/acs.cgd.4c00426}, author = {Ahsan, Mollah Rohan and Varma, Harshit and Mishra, Manish Kumar and Mukherjee, Arijit} } @article {49717, title = {Mechanical flexibility, photosalience, and acidochromism of benzylidene indanone-based molecular crystals}, journal = {Crystal Growth \& Design}, volume = {25}, year = {2025}, month = {JUN}, pages = {4481-4493}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

Molecular crystals that respond to multiple external stimuli are of great interest in smart, responsive materials in various fields. However, the integration of multiple responsive properties within the same crystal still remains a significant challenge for materials scientists due to the complex structural and electronic interactions. Previous studies on benzylidene indanone-based molecular crystals have shown only mechanical plasticity; however, we design crystals to elicit diverse responses to external stimuli, including mechanical stress, light, and acid vapor. Herein, we report two benzylidene indanone derivative-based crystals 1 and 2. Crystal 1 is mechanically brittle and exhibits light-induced photosalient splitting and jumping, attributed to [2 + 2] cycloaddition facilitated by the presence of a vinyl moiety. On the other hand, crystal 2 demonstrates anisotropic mechanical flexibility, exhibiting elasticity on one face and plasticity on alternate faces. Furthermore, crystals 1 and 2 both display reversible acidochromism in response to acid vapor. A detailed structure-property correlation has been established to elucidate the distinct mechanical responses of these molecular crystals. The development of such multistimuli-responsive smart materials holds significant potential for applications in flexible acid sensors, multifunctional responsive smart devices, and actuators, paving the way for advanced smart or intelligent molecular materials with tunable mechanical and optical properties.

}, issn = {1528-7483}, doi = {10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00389}, author = {Ahamed, Riyaaz and Bhowmik, Aritra and Mishra, Manish Kumar and Ghosh, Soumyajit} } @article {49708, title = {Photo-induced cracking in a Bi-component molecular solid: capturing structural intermediates}, journal = {Chemistry-An Asian Journal}, volume = {20}, year = {2025}, month = {MAY}, type = {Article}, abstract = {

A photo-responsive bi-component solid is designed based on robust large synthons. The study not only provides a template-based approach for a system that was difficult to photo-dimerize, but the designed solid also leads to photo-induced cracking upon photodimerization. The delicate structural design helps in capturing the structural intermediates, which reveals a possible reorientation of the photodimer within the crystal to maintain structural integrity.

}, keywords = {bi-component solid, crystal engineering, photoinduced cracking, single-crystal-to-single crystal transformation, [2+2] photodimerization}, issn = {1861-4728}, doi = {10.1002/asia.202401518}, author = {Ahsan, Mollah Rohan and Mishra, Manish Kumar and Mukherjee, Arijit} }