Alloxan under pressure-squeezing an extremely dense molecular crystal structure

Chem Commun (Camb). 2020 Jun 11;56(47):6428-6431. doi: 10.1039/d0cc02418j.

Abstract

The crystal structure of the small organic molecule, alloxan, has been explored using high-pressure neutron diffraction; its already efficiently-packed structure provides a 'chemical head-start' on the pressure experiment. At the highest pressure measured, alloxan reaches a density of 2.36 g cm-3-unprecedented for a C, H(D), N, O-containing organic material of appreciable molecular weight. Its crystal structure is stable until ca. 6.5 GPa above which the sample starts to undergo amorphisation.