Polymorphism crystalline structural disorder

The dispersed state has a considerable effect on fat crystal polymorphism. Lopez et al. (2000, 2001c) observed that crystallization in milk fat globules is more disordered than in bulk fat. On slow cooling, milk fat crystallizes in the a form in cream (Lopez et al., 2001a), whereas in anhydrous milk fat, it crystallizes first in the (3 form and then in the a form (Lopez et al., 2001b). Rapid cooling of cream or anhydrous milk fat from 60 to 4°C leads to the formation of a crystalline structures, which transformed into (3 structures... 

It should also be pointed out that structural flexibility, a key characteristic of organometallic molecules, plays a particularly important role in organometallic polymorphism because structurally non-rigid organometallic molecules are likely candidates for the formation of conformational polymorphs. A classical example of organometallic conformational polymorphism is provided by ferrocene, for which one room-temperature-disordered and two low-temperature-ordered crystalline forms are known. On approaching crystal polymorphism, one has to... 

Mesophase reveals intermediate order between amorphous and crystaUine phases. In the first studies it was labelled as smectic (Natta Corradini, 1960) or paracrystalline (Miller, 1960). Further studies revealed that mesophase is made up of bundles of parallel chains, which maintain typical for all polymorphic forms of polypropylene three-fold helical conformation. Bundles are terminated in the direction of the chain axis by helix reversals or other conformational defects (Androsch et al., 2010). In the bundles long range ordering maintains only along the chain axes, whereas in lateral packing a large amount of disorder is present (Natta Corradini, 1960). The mesophase is formed by quenching of the molten polypropylene (Miller, 1960 Wyckoff, 1962) or by deformation of the crystalline structure (Saraf Porter, 1988 Qiu, 2007). As for the fibres, the mesophase was observed in fibres taken at low take-up velocity (Spruiell White, 1975 Jinan et al., 1989, Bond Spruiell, 2001) in fibres intensively cooled in water with addition of ice or in the mixture of dry ice... 

The solvate is poorly stable and the solvent is easily removed leading to either the original polymorphic form but creating a certain degree of disorder in the crystalline structure or to what is called a desolvate solvate form. In this last case, also named isomorphic desolvate , the desolvated solvate retains the structure of its parent solvated form. The X-ray diffraction patterns look similar between the parent and the daughter forms. In this situation we have the creation of a molecular vacuum which could substantially impact on the stability, hygroscopicity and mechanical characteristics of the DS and finally of the DP. 

The crystallization of 3D-ordered crystalline phases from thermotropic mesophases, envisaged as stable pre-crystalline partially ordered intermediates, is an additional interesting issue which should be considered with care experimentally, theoretically, and with appropriate simulation approaches. Depending upon the nature of the mesophase it can be seen as a crystal-crystal transition or, for conformationally disordered, columnar mesophases, it approaches a true crystallization process. It is quite clear that the preexisting order will play a major role for example if the mesophase is chain-extended, bundle equilibria and chain-folding should not play any role. Indeed available experimental evidence supports this idea. Mechanistic and kinetic features should in general differ widely from the standard chain-folded crystallization processes yielding thin lamellar structures. In a number of cases (polyphosphazenes, polysiloxanes, see below) the crystalline polymorphs obtained from the chain-extended precursor differ from those obtained from solution. 

A remarkable property of lipid bilayers is their structural phase transitions (thermotropic polymorphism). For example, fully hydrated pure diacyl-phosphatidyl cholines exibit one fluid phase. La and three crystalline phases Pp/, Lp/. and Lc (12). Because of the high degree of disorder caused by defects, the Pp/ and Lp/ phases usually are called gel phases. The Pp/ phase is sometimes called a ripple phase, because the surface of the bilayer is rippled (13) and presents a wave-like appearance in electron micrographs (Fig. 2). Depending on the nature of the lipid and the presence of additional components (cholesterol etc.), the Pp/ phase may be present or absent in the phase diagram, and a tilted gel Lp/ could be replaced by the Lp phase, which has similar physical properties but no tilt of the hydrocarbon chains. 

Keen DA (1998) Reverse Monte Carlo refinement of disordered silica phases. In Thorpe MF, Billinge SJL (eds) Local Structure from Diffraction. Plennm, New York, p 101-119 Keen DA, Dove MT (1999) Comparing the local structures of amorphous and crystalline polymorphs of silica. JPhys Condensed Matter 11 9263-9273... 

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy has emerged over the years as a powerful analytical method in solid-state chemistry, especially with the advancements in techniques that allow the acquisition of high-resolution spectra [47]. In the broadest sense, ssNMR is mostly applied in characterization of crystalline materials as a means to support PXRD structural analyses by providing information on the number of molecules in the asymmetric unit or the symmetry of the occupied positions within the unit cell. Another major field of application is the structural characterization of amorphous and disordered solids where standard X-ray diffraction-based techniques fail to give detailed structural information. When discussing ssNMR in the context of API polymorphism and synthesis of co-crystals,... 

However, even without structural studies, Friberg et al. [32], Shinoda [33], and others noted that the broad existence range with respect to the water/oil ratio could not be consistent with a micellar-only picture. Also, the rich polymorphism in general in surfactant systems made such a simplified picture unreasonable. It was natural to try to visualize microemulsions as disordered versions of the ordered liquid crystalline phases occurring under similar conditions, and the rods of hexagonal phases, the layered structure of lamellar phases, and the minimal surface structure of bicontinuous cubic phases formed a starting point. We now know that the minimal surfaces of zero or low mean curvature, as introduced in the field by Scriven [34], offer an excellent description of balanced microemulsions, i.e., microemulsions containing similar volumes of oil and water. 

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