Hydrogen bond-directed supramolecular polymorphism leading to soft and hard molecular ordering

Chem Commun (Camb). 2020 Apr 21;56(31):4280-4283. doi: 10.1039/d0cc01636e. Epub 2020 Apr 1.

Abstract

Transformation of metastable supramolecular stacks of hydrogen-bonded rosettes composed of an ester-containing barbiturated naphthalene into crystalline nanosheets occurs through the rearrangement of hydrogen-bonding patterns. The involvement of the ester group in the crystalline hydrogen-bonded pattern is demonstrated, guiding us to a new molecular design that can afford supramolecular polymorphs with soft and hard molecular packing.