Ji Tingting, Yang Xuesong, Chen Quanliang, Zhang Hongyu
State Key Laboratory of Supramolecular Structure and Materials, College of Chemistry, Jilin University Qianjin Street Changchun 130012 P. R. China
Chem Sci. 2025 Mar 27;16(18):8099-8107. doi: 10.1039/d4sc07313d. eCollection 2025 May 7.
The development of decimeter-length organic crystals that remain elastic, functional, and machinable at extremely low temperatures, such as in liquid nitrogen (LN) environments, is a great challenge. Here, we report two novel elastic organic crystals, 1 and 2, derived from mono-benzene compounds. Crystals 1 are elastically bendable with decimeter-scale length (>10 cm) and exhibit better elastic bending ability at LN temperature compared to room temperature. In contrast, centimeter-length crystals 2 show reduced elasticity at LN temperature. Notably, crystals 1 can be cut and stripped at LN temperature. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the cryogenic machinability of organic crystals. By crystallographic analyses of 1 and 2, intermolecular interactions are shown to be responsible for their distinct crystal habits and cryogenic machinability. In addition, after stripping, crystals 1 exhibit programmable optical waveguide properties that vary in proportion to the crystal width and thus have the potential for applications as tunable wavelength modulators, capable of real-time two-dimensional motion detection in cryogenic environments. This material not only advances the field of flexible organic crystals but also opens up new possibilities for the development of smart materials that can be used under extreme conditions.
开发在极低温下（如液氮环境）仍保持弹性、功能性和可加工性的分米长有机晶体是一项巨大挑战。在此，我们报告了两种源自单苯化合物的新型弹性有机晶体1和2。晶体1具有分米级长度（>10厘米），可弹性弯曲，且与室温相比，在液氮温度下表现出更好的弹性弯曲能力。相比之下，厘米长的晶体2在液氮温度下弹性降低。值得注意的是，晶体1在液氮温度下可进行切割和剥离。据我们所知，这是关于有机晶体低温可加工性的首次报道。通过对1和2的晶体学分析表明，分子间相互作用导致了它们不同的晶体习性和低温可加工性。此外，剥离后，晶体1表现出可编程的光波导特性，其与晶体宽度成比例变化，因此有潜力用作可调谐波长调制器，能够在低温环境中进行实时二维运动检测。这种材料不仅推动了柔性有机晶体领域的发展，还为可在极端条件下使用的智能材料的开发开辟了新的可能性。
