Sangam: A Confluence of Knowledge Streams

Concerted Molecular Displacements in a Thermally-induced Solid-State Transformation in Crystals of DL-Norleucine

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dc.creator Anwar, Jamshed
dc.creator Kendrick, John
dc.creator Tuble, S.C.
dc.date 2009-05-27T10:06:54Z
dc.date 2009-05-27T10:06:54Z
dc.date 2007
dc.identifier Anwar, J., Kendrick, J. and Tuble, S.C. (2007). Concerted Molecular Displacements in a Thermally-induced Solid-State Transformation in Crystals of DL-Norleucine. Journal of the American Chemical Society. Vol.129, No.9, pp.2542-2547.
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10454/2701
dc.description No
dc.description Martensitic transformations are of considerable technological importance, a particularly promising application being the possibility of using martensitic materials, possibly proteins, as tiny machines. For organic crystals, however, a molecular level understanding of such transformations is lacking. We have studied a martensitic-type transformation in crystals of the amino acid DL-norleucine using molecular dynamics simulation. The crystal structures of DL-norleucine comprise stacks of bilayers (formed as a result of strong hydrogen bonding) that translate relative to each other on transformation. The simulations reveal that the transformation occurs by concerted molecular displacements involving entire bilayers rather than on a molecule-by-molecule basis. These observations can be rationalized on the basis that at sufficiently high excess temperatures, the free energy barriers to concerted molecular displacements can be overcome by the available thermal energy. Furthermore, in displacive transformations, the molecular displacements can occur by the propagation of a displacement wave (akin to a kink in a carpet), which requires the molecules to overcome only a local barrier. Concerted molecular displacements are therefore considered to be a significant feature of all displacive transformations. This finding is expected to be of value toward developing strategies for controlling or modulating martensitic-type transformations.
dc.language en
dc.relation http://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/ja066686y
dc.subject Martensitic transformations
dc.subject Crystals
dc.subject DL-Norleucine
dc.subject Solid-State Transformation
dc.subject Molecular dynamics simulation
dc.subject Displacive transformations
dc.subject Molecular displacement
dc.title Concerted Molecular Displacements in a Thermally-induced Solid-State Transformation in Crystals of DL-Norleucine
dc.type Article
dc.type No full-text available in the repository


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