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Updated: Dec 8, 2025

Effect of Bending on the Electrical Characteristics of Flexible Organic Single Crystal-based Field-effect Transistors
Published on: November 7, 2016
The mechanism of bending in a plastically flexible crystal
Subhrajyoti Bhandary1, Amy J Thompson2, John C McMurtrie3
1Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh 462066, India. dchopra@iiserb.ac.in.
Abstract:
Mechanically adaptable molecular crystals have potential applications in flexible smart materials and devices. Here, we report the mechanism of plastic deformation in single crystals of a small organic molecule (N-(4-ethynylphenyl)-3-fluoro-4-(trifluoromethyl)benzamide) that can be repeatedly irreversibly bent and returned to its original shape without concomitant delamination or loss of integrity. Along with the quantification of the crystals' local and bulk mechanical properties (hardness, indentation modulus and Young's modulus), micro-focus synchrotron X-ray diffraction mapping show that upon deformation, molecular layers lined with trifluoromethyl groups cooperatively slip past one another resulting in their impressive plastic malleability.
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