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1. Structural flexibility of halogen bonds showed in a single-crystal-to-single-crystal [2+2] photodimerization

   https://doi.org/10.1107/S2052252518007583  

   Sinnwell, Michael A.; Blad, Jared N.; Thomas, Logan R.; MacGillivray, Leonard R. (July 2018, IUCrJ)

   Halogen bonds have emerged as noncovalent forces that govern the assembly of molecules in organic solids with a degree of reliability akin to hydrogen bonds. Although the structure-directing roles of halogen bonds are often compared to hydrogen bonds, general knowledge concerning the fundamental structural behavior of halogen bonds has had limited opportunity to develop. Following an investigation of solid-state reactions involving organic syntheses and the development of photoresponsive materials, this work demonstrates the ability of the components of intermolecular N...I halogen bonding – a `workhorse' interaction for the crystal engineer – to support a single-crystal-to-single-crystal [2+2] photodimerization. A comparison is provided of the geometric changes experienced by the halogen-bonded components in the single-crystal reaction to the current crystal landscape of N...I halogen bonds, as derived from the Cambridge Structural Database. Specifically, a linear-to-bent type of deformation of the halogen-bonded components was observed, which is expected to support the development of functional halogen-bonded materials containing molecules that can undergo movements in close-packed crystal environments. 

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2. Bulk Crystal Growth and Single-Crystal-to-Single-Crystal Phase Transitions in the Averievite CsClCu ₅ V ₂ O ₁₀

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.cgd.4c01195  

   Liu, Chao; Ma, Chao; Chang, Tieyan; Wang, Xiaoli; Fan, Chuanyan; Han, Lu; Li, Feiyu; Wang, Shanpeng; Chen, Yu-Sheng; Zhang, Junjie (November 2024, Crystal Growth & Design)
3. Vacuum deposition of χ(2) nonlinear organic single crystal films on silicon

   https://doi.org/10.1063/5.0207675  

   Krainova, Nina; Johnson, Holly M; Lampande, Raju; Gao, Siyu; Marom, Noa; Rand, Barry P; Giebink, Noel C (July 2024, Applied Physics Letters)

   Integrating second order nonlinear (χ(2)) optical materials on chip is an ongoing challenge for Si photonics. Noncentrosymmetric molecular crystals have the potential to deliver high χ(2) nonlinearity with good thermal stability, but so far have been limited to growth from solution or the melt, which are both difficult to control and scale up in manufacturing. Here, we show that large (>100 μm) single crystal domains of the nonlinear molecule 2-[3-(4-hydroxystyryl)-5,5-dimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene] malononitrile (OH1) can be grown monolithically on either glass or Si via vacuum evaporation, followed by a short thermal annealing step. The crystallites are tens of nanometer thick and exhibit strong second harmonic generation with their primary χ(2) tensor component lying predominantly in plane. Remarkably, we find that a single domain can grow uninterrupted through nearby channels etched on a Si wafer, which may provide a path to integrate OH1 on Si or Si3N4 waveguides for a broad range of χ(2)-based photonic integrated circuit functionality. 

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4. Exploiting Aurophilic Interactions in a [2 + 2] Photocycloaddition: Single-Crystal Reactivity with Changes to Surface Morphology

   https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.inorgchem.9b01306  

   Li, Changan; Campillo-Alvarado, Gonzalo; Swenson, Dale C.; MacGillivray, Leonard R. (September 2019, Inorganic Chemistry)

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5. Unusual single crystal to single crystal phase transition of a nicotine salt monitored using temperature dependent single crystal X-ray diffraction

   https://doi.org/10.1039/D3CE00042G  

   Angevine, Devin J.; Mitchell, Travis; Zhang, Xiaotong; Benedict, Jason B. (April 2023, CrystEngComm)

   The organic salt ( S )-nicotinium 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate undergoes reversible single crystal to single crystal phase transition at 104 K. The phase transition was monitored using temperature dependent single crystal X-ray diffraction and was attributed to symmetry breaking translations and rotations of the crystal components. 

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