@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 = {<p>
	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.</p>
},
	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}
}
@article {50161,
	title = {From brittle to elastic: substituent effects on mechanical flexibility in aromatic amide crystals},
	journal = {Chemistry-An Asian Journal},
	volume = {21},
	year = {2026},
	month = {MAY},
	pages = {e70795},
	type = {Article},
	abstract = {<p>
	Mechanical flexibility in molecular crystalline materials represents a compelling paradigm shift from the long-held perception of crystals as inherently brittle solids. Herein, we demonstrate a brittle-to-elastic transition by subtle molecular modification in a pair of structurally analogous aromatic amides; N-[(4-methoxyphenyl)methyl]formamide (N4MFA, Crystal 1) and N-benzylformamide (NBFA, Crystal 2). Despite their close structural similarity, Crystal 1 exhibits brittle fracture under minimal stress, whereas Crystal 2 shows 1D elastic flexibility with reversible bending. Structural, computational, and mechanical analyses reveal that this contrast arises from substituent-controlled supramolecular packing. In Crystal 1, the methoxy (-OCH3) group promotes dense, anisotropic packing, leading to rigidity and fracture under stress. Removing the substituent in Crystal 2 enhances isotropy, pi-pi stacking, and interlocked packing, enabling reversible strain during elastic bending. Nanoindentation, energy framework, and elastic tensor analyses confirm this transition: Crystal 2 shows near-isotropic stiffness (E max/E min = 1.65) and interconnected energy networks, whereas Crystal 1 exhibits pronounced anisotropy (E max/E min = 3.95) and 1D cohesion. Hirshfeld surface analysis supports more balanced contacts in the elastic crystal. This work establishes a direct structure-mechanical correlation, showing that minor chemical modifications can tune flexibility and provide insights to guide the development of adaptive crystalline materials.</p>
},
	keywords = {crystal engineering, Elasticity, Mechanical property, nanoindentation, responsive crystals},
	issn = {1861-4728},
	doi = {10.1002/asia.70795},
	author = {Bhowmik, Aritra and Das, Nirmal and Saxena, Ashish Kumar and Mishra, Kamini and Barsu, Nagaraju and Mishra, Manish Kumar}
}
