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Chirality is a term that describes the lack of mirror symmetry in an object. In other words, chiral objects cannot be superposed on their mirror images. For example, our feet are chiral, as the mirror image of the left foot, the right foot, cannot be superposed on the left foot.
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Perpetually self-propelling chiral single crystals.

Manas K Panda1, Tomče Runčevski, Ahmad Husain

  • 1New York University Abu Dhabi , P.O. Box 129188, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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Summary

Chiral pyroglutamic acid crystals exhibit robust, repeatable self-actuation upon heating due to a unique structural phase transition. This thermosalient effect, unlike others, avoids crystal disintegration, offering a novel mechanism for materials actuation.

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Area of Science:

  • Materials Science
  • Crystallography
  • Physical Chemistry

Background:

  • Thermosalient materials undergo rapid shape changes upon heating.
  • Existing thermosalient materials often disintegrate during actuation.
  • Chiral pyroglutamic acid (PGA) is a molecule with potential for unique solid-state properties.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the self-actuation mechanism in enantiomerically pure D- and L-pyroglutamic acid (PGA) crystals.
  • To characterize the structural and thermal properties associated with the thermosalient effect in PGA.
  • To compare the actuation behavior of chiral PGA with other thermosalient materials.

Main Methods:

  • Single crystal synthesis and characterization.
  • Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) for phase transition analysis.
  • X-ray diffraction (XRD) to determine crystal structures and thermal expansion coefficients.
  • In-situ optical microscopy to observe self-actuation.

Main Results:

  • Enantiomerically pure D- and L-PGA crystals exhibit recurring self-actuation upon heating, while the racemate is inactive.
  • The actuation is robust and repeatable without crystal deterioration, attributed to a low-dimensional hydrogen-bonding network.
  • The β-polymorph shows significant negative biaxial and positive uniaxial thermal expansion, a key factor in the thermosalient effect.

Conclusions:

  • Chiral PGA crystals demonstrate a novel, robust thermosalient effect driven by elastic deformation and anomalous thermal expansion.
  • The findings suggest that thermosalient effects can occur in soft crystals with anisotropic thermal expansion and limited hydrogen bonding.
  • This work opens avenues for designing new self-actuating materials with enhanced durability.