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Resonant X-ray diffraction measurements were used to examine Cu site differentiation within a Cu₄S cluster that distorts its geometry to activate N₂O, thus mimicking the behavior of the biological Cu_Zactive site. 

Dithienylethenes (DTEs) are a promising class of organic photoswitches that can be used to create crystalline solids with properties controlled by light. However, the ability of DTEs to adopt multiple conformations, only one of which is photoactive, complicates the rational design of these materials. Herein, the synthesis and structural characterization of 19 crystalline solids containing a single DTE molecule are described. A novelD–Danalysis of the molecular geometries obtained from rotational potential energy surface calculations and the ensemble of experimental structures were used to construct a crystal landscape for DTE. Of the 19 crystal structures, 17 contained photoinactive DTE rotamers and only 2 were photoactive. These results highlight the challenges associated with the design of these materials. Overall, theD–Danalysis described herein provides rapid, effective and intuitive means of linking the molecular structure to photoactivity that could be applied more broadly to afford a general strategy for producing photoactive diarylethene-based crystalline solids. 

The separation of xylene isomers still remains an industrially challenging task. Here, porous purine-based metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) have been synthesized and studied for their potential in xylene separations. In particular, Zn(purine)I showed excellent para -xylene/ ortho -xylene separation capability with a diffusion selectivity of 6 and high equilibrium adsorption selectivity as indicated by coadsorption experiments. This high selectivity is attributed to the shape and size of the channel aperture within the rigid framework of Zn(purine)I. 

Single-crystal nanooptomechanical transduction occurs in [Ru(SO 2 )(NH 3 ) 4 (H 2 O)]chlorobenzenesulfonate 2 , reaching maximal levels within 40 s at 100 K when photostimulated by 505 nm light. Its in situ light-induced crystal structure reveals the molecular origins of this optical actuation: 26.0(3)% of the η 1 -SO 2 ligand photoconverts into an η 1 -OSO photoisomer which, in turn, induces a 49.6(9)° arene ring rotation in its neighbouring counter ion.