Crystallization processes under different conditions are of fundamental interest in chemistry, pharmacy, and medicine. Therefore, we have studied the formation of micro- and nanosized crystals using water-caffeine (1,3,7-trimethyl-1H-purine-2,6(3H,7H)-dione) solutions under ambient conditions as a relevant model system. When droplets of an aqueous caffeine solution evaporate and eventually dry on surfaces (glass, polystyrene, and polyester), stable coffee tabletop rings with a perimeter of typically 3 mm are formed after 20 to 50 min. Using a micro focus X-ray beam available at the BESSY µSpot-beamline, the fine structure of different caffeine needles can be distinguished. Unexpectedly, both crystal modifications (α- and β-caffeine) are present, but locally separated in these rings. Furthermore, AFM studies reveal the presence of even smaller particles on a nanometer length scale. To eliminate influences of surface irregularities from the crystallization process, acoustic levitation of liquid samples was employed. Such levitated droplets are trapped in a stable position and only surrounded by air. The solvent in an ultrasonically levitated drop evaporates completely, and the resulting crystallization of caffeine was followed in situ by synchrotron X-ray diffraction. In this case, the diffraction pattern is in accordance with pure α-caffeine and does not indicate the formation of the room temperature polymorph β-caffeine. Hence, our investigations open new vistas that may lead to a controlled formation of cocrystals and novel polymorphs of micro- and nanocrystalline materials, which are of relevance for fundamental studies as well as for pharmaceutical and medical applications.
Mechanochemical synthesis of [Zn3(C2O4)3(4,4'-bipy)4] and its reorganization at high temperatures
(2014)
The metal organic layered structure catena-(bis(µ2-4,4'-bipyridine)-tris(µ2-oxalato)-bis(4,4'-bipyridine)-tri-zinc(ii)) ([Zn3(C2O4)3(4,4'-bipy)4]) was synthesized mechanochemically applying three different routes. The synthesis succeeded by i) simultaneously neat grinding the three starting materials zinc acetate dihydrate, oxalic acid dihydrate and 4,4'bipyridine, ii) grinding two compounds and adding the third afterwards, independent of the sequence. The products were characterized using powder X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, gas adsorption measurements, and scanning electron microscopy. Temperature-dependent synchrotron XRD measurements revealed that the monoclinic structure of [Zn3(C2O4)3(4,4'-bipy)4] rearranges reversibly to a higher ordered orthorhombic structure [Zn(C2O4)(4,4'-bipy)] at high temperatures.
A combination of two analytical methods, time-resolved X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, is presented as a novel tool for crystallization studies. An acoustic levitator was employed as sample environment. This setup enables the acquisition of XRD and Raman data in situ simultaneously within a 20 s period and hence permits investigation of polymorphic phase transitions during the crystallization process in different solvents (methanol, ethanol, acetone, dichloromethane, acetonitrile). These real time measurements allow the determination of the phase content from the onset of the first crystalline molecular assemblies to the stable system. To evaluate the capability of this approach, the setup was applied to elucidate the crystallization process of the polymorphic compound nifedipine. The results indicate the existence of solvent-dependent transient phases during the crystallization process. The quality of the data allowed the assignment of the lattice constants of the hitherto unknown crystal structure of the β-polymorph.