Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0010910.1021/acs.cgd.5c00109
Hui-Ying Sun, Kai-Yu Wang, Liang Zhao, Ren-He Zhou, Yin-Shan Meng* and Tao Liu*,
{"title":"Substitution-Tuned Spin Crossover in a Family of Schiff Base-Like Ligand-Supported FeII Complexes","authors":"Hui-Ying Sun, Kai-Yu Wang, Liang Zhao, Ren-He Zhou, Yin-Shan Meng* and Tao Liu*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0010910.1021/acs.cgd.5c00109","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00109https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00109","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Spin crossover (SCO) complexes have been emerging at the forefront of molecular magnetism because of their unique stimuli-responsive bistability character. Rational design and controllable regulation of key parameters, such as the transition ratio, transition temperature (<i>T</i><sub>1/2</sub>), and thermal hysteresis, are essential for their practical applications. These parameters are affected by numerous factors, such as substitutions, counterions, guest molecules, and physical stimuli, where the substitutions can directly influence the coordination ligand field via electronic/steric effects. To access substitution-tuned spin crossover, we synthesized three neutral mononuclear complexes: [FeL<sup>1</sup>(4-avp)<sub>2</sub>]·CH<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub> (<b>1</b>), [FeL<sup>2</sup>(4-avp)<sub>2</sub>]·CH<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub> (<b>2</b>), and [FeL<sup>3</sup>(4-avp)<sub>2</sub>] (<b>3</b>), utilizing the monodentate ligand 4-(2-(anthracen-9-yl)vinyl)pyridine (4-avp) and N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub><sup>2–</sup> coordinating Schiff base-like tetradentate ligands L<sup>1</sup>–L<sup>3</sup> with different substituents (L<sup>1</sup> bearing a naphthyl; L<sup>2</sup> bearing an <i>o</i>-xylene; L<sup>3</sup> bearing an <i>o</i>-difluorobenzene). <b>1</b> and <b>2</b> underwent complete and partial thermally induced spin crossover (<b>1</b>: <i>T</i><sub>1/2</sub> = 158 K; <b>2</b>: <i>T</i><sub>1/2</sub> = 112 K), respectively, while <b>3</b> retained the high-spin state over the measured temperature range. Magneto-structural studies indicate that the substitution of Schiff base-like ligands can influence the molecular packing density and ligand field strength, leading to significant alterations in the spin state and transition temperature of the complexes. This study highlights the impact of substituents on the spin crossover behavior in mononuclear complexes with N<sub>2</sub>O<sub>2</sub><sup>2–</sup> coordinating Schiff base-like ligands, offering valuable insights into the design of molecules with tunable SCO properties.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 9","pages":"3058–3064 3058–3064"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143910968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0008910.1021/acs.cgd.5c00089
Abdel Rahman Al Ahmad, Thierry Maris and James D. Wuest*,
{"title":"Hiding in Plain Sight: Polymorphs of Riluzole†","authors":"Abdel Rahman Al Ahmad, Thierry Maris and James D. Wuest*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0008910.1021/acs.cgd.5c00089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00089https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00089","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Riluzole is a glutamate modulator approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1995 for treating amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Although the drug is typically formulated as a solid in tablets for oral administration, little has been published about the crystallinity, structure, and polymorphism of the compound. We have found that riluzole can exist in at least three crystalline forms: a previously reported triclinic <i>P</i>1̅ Form I and two new monoclinic <i>P</i>2<sub>1</sub>/<i>c</i> Forms II and III. The relative stability of the forms has been established, and the structure of the form used commercially has been determined. Our study illustrates the difficulty of characterizing polymorphic landscapes when different forms have close structural relationships, when crystallites tend to adopt preferred orientations that complicate the analysis of powder diffractograms, and when computational predictions of structures with high values of <i>Z</i>′ remain challenging. Because riluzole has a compact structure incorporating diverse functionality, including an aromatic core, fluorination, and a capacity for hydrogen bonding, its polymorphism is a subject of special interest at a time when the number of fluorinated drugs is growing rapidly.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 9","pages":"3029–3036 3029–3036"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911050","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0144610.1021/acs.cgd.4c01446
Leo Pel*, Sebastiaan Godts, Amelie Stahlbuhk, Noushine Shahidzadeh and Michael Steiger*,
{"title":"Crystallization of NaCl–NaNO3–H2O in Porous Media During Drying","authors":"Leo Pel*, Sebastiaan Godts, Amelie Stahlbuhk, Noushine Shahidzadeh and Michael Steiger*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0144610.1021/acs.cgd.4c01446","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01446https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01446","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this study, we investigated the crystallization of a salt mixture during drying in a porous medium. Specifically, we focused on the ternary system of NaCl–NaNO<sub>3</sub>–H<sub>2</sub>O, which is also encountered in situ. In order to study the crystallization, we use a specialized 4.7 T NMR setup that allows us to directly measure the NaCl and NaNO<sub>3</sub> concentrations in a porous medium and track their ratio during drying, providing direct insight into the phase diagram. The measurements indicate that the equilibrium phase diagram alone is not sufficient to describe the physical processes that occur in porous media during drying experiments. In the case of forced drying in this study, where advection of the ions is dominant (<i>Pe</i> > 5), the measurements indicate that we need to take supersaturation into account and that crystallization is driven by transport. As a result, the ratio of a salt mixture will remain constant in the porous medium throughout the experiments, as was seen for this ternary system Na<sup>+</sup>, Cl<sup>–</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> resulting in the formation of both NaCl and NaNO<sub>3</sub>. These results indicate that the rate of evaporation, in combination with the effect of supersaturation and solution transport in the pore system, allows the saturation degree given by the phase diagram to be surpassed. This phenomenon is critical when assessing mixed salt systems in porous media and should be considered when evaluating phase diagrams alone.</p><p >In this study, we investigated the crystallization of a salt mixture during drying in a porous medium. Specifically, we focused on the ternary system of NaCl−NaNO<sub>3</sub>−H<sub>2</sub>O, which is also encountered in situ.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 9","pages":"2843–2848 2843–2848"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01446","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911444","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0111510.1021/acs.cgd.4c01115
Dong Han, Bruno Canut, Guillaume Saint-Girons and Romain Bachelet*,
{"title":"Sr1+δCrO3–x Epitaxial Thin Films","authors":"Dong Han, Bruno Canut, Guillaume Saint-Girons and Romain Bachelet*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0111510.1021/acs.cgd.4c01115","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01115https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01115","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Sr<sub>1+δ</sub>CrO<sub>3–<i>x</i></sub> epitaxial thin films with −0.14 ≤ δ ≤ 0.14 were grown on SrTiO<sub>3</sub>(001) substrates by solid-source molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) in codeposition. The impact of the deviation from the cationic stoichiometry (δ) on the structural properties is reported. In spite of a significant in-plane lattice mismatch with the substrate (∼2.25%), all films are epitaxial with flat surfaces, present low mosaicity (∼0.1°), and keep a perovskite-based structure. However, an additional Ruddlesden–Popper (RP) phase is spontaneously formed (<i>n</i> = 2) for δ > 0 (Sr-rich). These results are important for further studies on structure–property relationships in the view to exploit the functional properties of Sr<sub>1+δ</sub>CrO<sub>3–<i>x</i></sub>-based films in devices.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 9","pages":"2809–2813 2809–2813"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911442","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-08DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0175810.1021/acs.cgd.4c01758
He Wang, Dezhong Cao*, Yuxuan Diwu, Wangxin Gao, Hu Zhou, Feifei Wang, Tongle Guan, Tiantian Luo, Li Ma, Sen Wang, Zhengquan Guo, Mengqi Tian, Qinglong Fang, Dingze Lu, Ningning Feng, Lianbi Li, Caijuan Xia, Xiaohua Ma and Yue Hao,
{"title":"Increased Photocatalytic Properties of Nanoporous GaN-Based MQWs/TiO2 with Nanoporous GaN Distributed Bragg Reflectors","authors":"He Wang, Dezhong Cao*, Yuxuan Diwu, Wangxin Gao, Hu Zhou, Feifei Wang, Tongle Guan, Tiantian Luo, Li Ma, Sen Wang, Zhengquan Guo, Mengqi Tian, Qinglong Fang, Dingze Lu, Ningning Feng, Lianbi Li, Caijuan Xia, Xiaohua Ma and Yue Hao, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.4c0175810.1021/acs.cgd.4c01758","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01758https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01758","url":null,"abstract":"<p >Nanoporous gallium nitride (GaN)-based multiple quantum wells (MQWs) with nanoporous GaN distributed Bragg reflectors (NP-MQWs) are used as substrates for the regrowth of niobium (Nb) doped TiO<sub>2</sub> thin films via pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Electrochemical tests present that nanoporous heterojunction structures of NP-MQWs-based TiO<sub>2</sub> (NP-MQWs/TiO<sub>2</sub>) increase the separation and transfer efficiency of the photogenerated charge. Compared with as-grown MQWs-based TiO<sub>2</sub> (AG-MQWs/TiO<sub>2</sub>), NP-MQWs/TiO<sub>2</sub> shows significantly increased photodegradation amounts of Rhodamine B (RhB) at various pHs, which can be put down to decreased stress, improved crystal quality, and rising light absorption of the MQWs structure and the TiO<sub>2</sub> layer. Moreover, the photocatalytic mechanism of NP-MQWs/TiO<sub>2</sub> is revealed.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 9","pages":"2939–2946 2939–2946"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143911445","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0011010.1021/acs.cgd.5c00110
Shalini Joshi, Sabyasachi Roy Chowdhury and Sabyashachi Mishra*,
{"title":"Magnetostructural Correlation in Trigonal Bipyramidal Fe(III) Complexes: Tuning Spin-State Stability and Magnetic Anisotropy via Second Coordination Sphere Substitution","authors":"Shalini Joshi, Sabyasachi Roy Chowdhury and Sabyashachi Mishra*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0011010.1021/acs.cgd.5c00110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00110https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00110","url":null,"abstract":"<p >The spin-dependent properties of the transition-metal complexes are strongly influenced by modifications of the first coordination sphere. However, the role of the second coordination sphere in governing these phenomena has remained relatively underexplored. In this study, the ground spin state stability and magnetic anisotropy of 33 trigonal bipyramidal (TBP) iron(III) complexes are examined, starting from the reference complex <i></i><math><msub><mrow><mo>(</mo><msub><mrow><mi>P</mi><mi>M</mi><mi>e</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn></msub><mo>)</mo></mrow><mn>2</mn></msub><msub><mrow><mi>F</mi><mi>e</mi><mi>C</mi><mi>l</mi></mrow><mn>3</mn></msub></math>, using a combination of density functional theory (DFT) and multiconfigurational methods. The spin–orbit coupling is evaluated <i>a posteriori</i>. The complexes were modeled by systematically substituting the second-coordination sphere, i.e., replacing the methyl groups of the phosphine ligands with various alkyl, alkoxy, and acyl groups of increasing bulkiness. Magnetostructural correlations are employed to investigate the impact of these substitutions on the ground spin state and magnetic anisotropy. The effects of structural parameters, such as the axial angle deviation, Tolman cone angle, equatorial deviation parameter, and continuous shape measurement, are explored on the orbital ordering, the energetics of scalar-relativistic and spin–orbit states, zero-field splitting parameters, <i>g</i>-tensors, and the effective magnetic anisotropy barriers. Our investigation reveals that the magnetic anisotropy of these complexes can be systematically enhanced by tuning the second coordination sphere. This can be achieved through a balanced combination of ligand substitutions that account for steric effects and electron-donating or electron-withdrawing properties, offering important guidelines for designing efficient single-ion magnets.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 8","pages":"2602–2616 2602–2616"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832889","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-07DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0016110.1021/acs.cgd.5c00161
Chunling Liu, Yijie Ma, Shenshen Du, Xingjun Ou, Junhao Sun, Xiang Lian, Lixing Song* and Fanhong Wu*,
{"title":"Bioactive Ionic Cocrystals of Sitagliptin: Structural Characterization, Stability Analysis, and Molecular Docking Studies","authors":"Chunling Liu, Yijie Ma, Shenshen Du, Xingjun Ou, Junhao Sun, Xiang Lian, Lixing Song* and Fanhong Wu*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0016110.1021/acs.cgd.5c00161","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00161https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00161","url":null,"abstract":"<p >In this work, ionic cocrystals of sitagliptin, using inorganic salts as coformers, were prepared via mechanochemical and solution chemistry methods. The crystal structures were determined through single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and intermolecular interactions were examined using Hirshfeld surface analysis. Thermal analysis and slurry experiments demonstrated that two ionic cocrystals exhibit excellent thermal and solution stability. Additionally, molecular docking studies provided evidence of the enhanced bioactivity of the ionic cocrystals.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 8","pages":"2683–2690 2683–2690"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832623","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-06DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0012010.1021/acs.cgd.5c00120
Nobuto Funakoshi*, Masanori Wakizaka, Qingyun Wan, Yongbing Shen, Haitao Zhang, Hiroshi Ito, Hiroaki Iguchi, Ryuta Ishikawa, Yoji Horii, Brian K. Breedlove, Shinya Takaishi and Masahiro Yamashita*,
{"title":"Distinctive Magnetic Relaxation Behavior of Ln(III) Single-Molecule Magnets with a Conducting Organic π Donor System","authors":"Nobuto Funakoshi*, Masanori Wakizaka, Qingyun Wan, Yongbing Shen, Haitao Zhang, Hiroshi Ito, Hiroaki Iguchi, Ryuta Ishikawa, Yoji Horii, Brian K. Breedlove, Shinya Takaishi and Masahiro Yamashita*, ","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c0012010.1021/acs.cgd.5c00120","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00120https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00120","url":null,"abstract":"<p >It is expected that single-molecule magnets (SMMs) containing Lanthanoids play an important role in high-density magnetic devices. In this work, we synthesized new conductive Ln(III) SMMs, (TMTSF)<sub>4</sub>[Ln(NCS)<sub>6</sub>](CH<sub>3</sub>CN)<sub>2</sub>(CH<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub>)<sub>0.5</sub> (H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>0.5</sub> (TMTSF = (tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene), Ln(III) = Dy <b>(1)</b> and Tb <b>(2)</b>), which have organic TMTSF π donors as the conducting part. The crystal structure has high symmetry, and lanthanoid complexes form a lattice-like structure with the TMTSF donor. [Ln(NCS)<sub>6</sub>]<sup>3–</sup> forms a distorted octahedron due to S···Se contact with the TMTSF. The compound undergoes fast magnetic relaxation in the low-temperature region, and its relaxation time τ is almost independent of the temperature. The change in rate is nearly linear. The compounds show semiconductive behavior and a weak magnetoresistance effect at ambient and high pressure at the low temperatures.</p><p >It is expected that Single-Molecule-Magnets (SMMs) containing Lanthanoids play an important role in high-density magnetic devices. In this work, we synthesized new conductive Ln(III) SMMs, (TMTSF)<sub>4</sub>[Ln(NCS)<sub>6</sub>](CH<sub>3</sub>CN)<sub>2</sub>(CH<sub>2</sub>Cl<sub>2</sub>)<sub>0.5</sub> (H<sub>2</sub>O)<sub>0.5</sub> (TMTSF = (tetramethyltetraselenafulvalene), Ln(III) = Dy <b>(1)</b> and Tb <b>(2)</b>), which have organic TMTSF π donors as the conducting part. The crystal structure has high symmetry, and lanthanoid complexes form a lattice-like structure with the TMTSF donor. [Ln(NCS)<sub>6</sub>]<sup>3−</sup> forms a distorted octahedron due to S···Se contact with the TMTSF. The compound undergoes fast magnetic relaxation in the low-temperature region, and its relaxation time τ is almost independent of the temperature. The change in rate is nearly linear. The compounds show semiconductive behavior and a weak magnetoresistance effect at ambient and high pressure at the low temperatures.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 8","pages":"2650–2656 2650–2656"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00120","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143832683","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-04eCollection Date: 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01722
Michele Chen, Leif-Thore Deck, Luca Bosetti, Marco Mazzotti
{"title":"Developing a Vial-Scale Methodology for the Measurement of Nucleation Kinetics Using Evaporative Crystallization: A Case Study with Sodium Chloride.","authors":"Michele Chen, Leif-Thore Deck, Luca Bosetti, Marco Mazzotti","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01722","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01722","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Understanding nucleation kinetics is vital for designing crystallization processes, yet traditional measurement methods based on cooling are unsuitable for compounds with temperature-independent solubility. This study introduces an experimental procedure to measure the nucleation kinetics based on evaporative crystallization and applies it to sodium chloride (NaCl) in water. By systematically varying the experimental conditions such as temperature and evaporation gas flow rate, we obtained a comprehensive data set for the nucleation of NaCl crystals that allowed estimating kinetic parameters using a rate expression derived from classical nucleation theory (CNT). This work demonstrates the robustness of evaporation as a method for measuring the nucleation kinetics that is applicable regardless of how the solubility of a compound depends on the temperature.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 8","pages":"2498-2509"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12006966/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143955689","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Crystal Growth & DesignPub Date : 2025-04-04eCollection Date: 2025-04-16DOI: 10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00227
Cecilia Fiore, Tom Rutherford, Francesca Giuffrida, Cynthia Marmet, Elena Simone
{"title":"Crystallization Behavior of Plant-Based Fat Blends Formulated as an Alternative for Anhydrous Milk Fat in Milk Chocolate.","authors":"Cecilia Fiore, Tom Rutherford, Francesca Giuffrida, Cynthia Marmet, Elena Simone","doi":"10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00227","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.5c00227","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Due to the increasing global demand for chocolate products and changes in consumer preferences, chocolate manufacturers have recently started to explore novel solutions to reformulate chocolate. Milk fat alternatives (MFA) are blends of triglycerides from different plant-based sources that resemble anhydrous milk fat in physical properties, particularly thermal behavior and solid fat content. However, in order to use MFA as potential ingredients for vegan milk chocolate formulations, it is necessary to understand their crystallization behavior, particularly in light of their chemical composition. Here, we applied synchrotron X-ray scattering, polarized light microscopy, and differential scanning calorimetry to investigate the crystallization behavior of four selected commercial MFAs (MF1, 2, 3, and 4), on their own and mixed with cocoa butter (CB). Chemical characterization revealed significant differences among samples and with both anhydrous milk fat (MF) and CB. POP-rich MF1 presented a specific polymorphic and thermal behavior, with the unstable β' form persisting for longer times than all other samples. Sample MF2 exhibited a polymorphic behavior more similar to CB in terms of number, type, and melting behavior due to the compositional similarities (e.g., prevalence of both SOS and POP). SOS-rich MF3 was characterized by metastable forms γ and β'(3L), whereas MF4 at ambient conditions showed only β(2L) forms due to its specific composition. Mixtures of CB and all MFAs behaved similarly to CB and MF mixtures, with good miscibility at ambient temperature and a lower melting point. Despite significant differences in chemical composition, MF4 presented similar solid fat content compared to MF; this is due to the high amount of relatively long chain, unsaturated fatty acids and the broad distribution of different TAGs, which all lower the melting point of this sample.</p>","PeriodicalId":34,"journal":{"name":"Crystal Growth & Design","volume":"25 8","pages":"2700-2716"},"PeriodicalIF":3.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC12006965/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143951097","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}