Home > Press > Chemists Grow Crystals with a Twist—and Untwist
 |
| NYU and St. Petersburg State University chemists have discovered a wholly new phenomenon for crystal growth—a crystal that continually changes its shape as it grows. |
Abstract:
Chemists from New York University and Russia's St. Petersburg State University have created crystals that can twist and untwist, pointing to a much more varied process of crystal growth than previously thought.
Chemists Grow Crystals with a Twist—and Untwist
Manhattan, NY | Posted on July 20th, 2010Their work, which appears in the latest issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, may explain some of the properties of high-polymers, which are used in clothing and liquid crystal displays, among other consumer products.
Crystal growth has traditionally been viewed as a collection of individual atoms, molecules, or small clusters adding to a larger block that remains in a fixed translational relationship to the rest.
But the NYU and St. Petersburg State University chemists discovered a wholly new phenomenon for growth—a crystal that continually changes its shape as it grows.
To do this, the researchers focused on crystals from hippuric acid—a derivative of the amino acid glycine. As molecules were added to the end of fine crystalline needles, stresses built up at the tips of the crystals and resulted in a helical twist—much like DNA's double helix. The process was reversed when crystals thickened from the opposite end of the growing tip—that is, the crystals stiffened, thereby undoing the twisted formations. This is because the elasticity of the crystals decreases as they become thicker, thus "squeezing out" the deformations that were induced at the growing tip.
"This competition between twisting and untwisting creates needles with a rainbow of colors, which is a characteristic of tightly wound helices, as well as ribbons that have become completely untwisted," said Bart Kahr, one of the study's co-authors and a professor in NYU's Department of Chemistry, explaining the crystals' appearance. "This is a very strange and new perspective on crystal growth."
"This dynamic has not been observed before and points to a much more active process of crystal growth than we had anticipated," added Kahr, also part of NYU's Molecular Design Institute.
The work's other co-authors were Alexander Shtukenberg, a senior researcher from Russia's St. Petersburg State University and a visiting scholar at NYU, and John Freudenthal, an NYU doctoral student.
####
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
James Devitt
(212) 998-6808
Copyright © New York University
If you have a comment, please Contact us.Issuers of news releases, not 7th Wave, Inc. or Nanotechnology Now, are solely responsible for the accuracy of the content.
Bookmark:
| Related News Press |
Chemistry
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Quantum interference in molecule-surface collisions February 28th, 2025
Chainmail-like material could be the future of armor: First 2D mechanically interlocked polymer exhibits exceptional flexibility and strength January 17th, 2025
Breaking carbon–hydrogen bonds to make complex molecules November 8th, 2024
News and information
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Display technology/LEDs/SS Lighting/OLEDs
Academic/Education
Rice University launches Rice Synthetic Biology Institute to improve lives January 12th, 2024
Multi-institution, $4.6 million NSF grant to fund nanotechnology training September 9th, 2022
Discoveries
Researchers unveil a groundbreaking clay-based solution to capture carbon dioxide and combat climate change June 6th, 2025
Cambridge chemists discover simple way to build bigger molecules – one carbon at a time June 6th, 2025
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Announcements
Electrifying results shed light on graphene foam as a potential material for lab grown cartilage June 6th, 2025
Quantum computers simulate fundamental physics: shedding light on the building blocks of nature June 6th, 2025
A 1960s idea inspires NBI researchers to study hitherto inaccessible quantum states June 6th, 2025
Textiles/Clothing
Protective equipment with graphene nanotubes meets the strictest ESD safety standards March 25th, 2022
Polymer fibers with graphene nanotubes make it possible to heat hard-to-reach, complex-shaped items February 11th, 2022
Flexible material shows potential for use in fabrics to heat, cool July 3rd, 2020
Research partnerships
HKU physicists uncover hidden order in the quantum world through deconfined quantum critical points April 25th, 2025
SMART researchers pioneer first-of-its-kind nanosensor for real-time iron detection in plants February 28th, 2025
 |
||
 |
||
| The latest news from around the world, FREE | ||
 |
||
|
|
||
| Premium Products | ||
 |
||
|
Only the news you want to read!
Learn More |
||
 |
||
|
Full-service, expert consulting
Learn More |
||
|
|
||